3 Beijing officials accused of COVID test crimes

Three government officials in Beijing were expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from office over allegations of crimes involving coronavirus testing.

Yang Daqing, who was deputy director of the Fangshan district Health Commission in Beijing, together with two other officials — Jin Changhao and Xing Man — were accused of taking bribes and violating work discipline that brought heavy losses to the Party, country and the public interest, according to disciplinary authorities on Tuesday.

The case was transferred to prosecutors.

According to an earlier announcement by Fangshan district, the case is related to Beijing Pushi Medical Laboratory Co, which reportedly provided test result data that didn't correspond to the number of samples collected.

The Beijing police took steps against six people in connection with the lab in May. The lab's business license was revoked.

Beijing reported one locally transmitted COVID-19 case and three imported cases on Tuesday, the city's health authority said on Wednesday.

The person who was confirmed with COVID-19 lives in Chaoyang district and was in quarantine. Five asymptomatic carriers were reported on Tuesday.

The municipal government said more information would be forthcoming.