A thermal detector at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

One day after a meeting on the prevention and control of the pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus, held by the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, China started punishments over misconduct in Hubei Province, where the outbreak started and the region that is suffering the most from the epidemic.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the meeting and made an important speech, according to Xinhua News Agency. Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said at the meeting that, "Those who disobey the unified command or shirk responsibilities will be punished."

On Tuesday, the Commission for Discipline Inspection of Wuhan removed multiple officials in Hubei from their posts, according to a report by the Hubei Daily, the official newspaper of the provincial Party committee.

Xia Guohua, deputy head of Hubei Provincial Statistics Bureau, has been removed from his post and been issued a serious warning, as well as having a serious demerit recorded against him under Party discipline for misconduct while transporting medical masks that broke the regulations of distribution work for emergency materials.

Three officials from the Red Cross Society of China's Hubei branch have been punished for improperly dealing with donations for the prevention and control of the pneumonia outbreak.

In a news release, the Hubei Province's anti-corruption and supervisory watchdog said some officials and workers at the branch did not shoulder their responsibilities or failed to perform their duties when receiving and allocating donated supplies and money and had engaged in misconduct related to information transparency.

As a result, the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission removed Zhang Qin, the branch's full-time vice-president and member of the branch's leading Party group, from his post, giving him a serious warning within the Party and disciplinary punishment for his mistakes at work.

Chen Bo, another member of the branch's leading Party group, received a serious warning from the Party and disciplinary punishment for errors at work, the release said.

Gao Qin, the secretary of the branch's leading Party group and the branch's executive vice-president, was also given a warning from the Party, it added.

Party members who receive a Party warning cannot be promoted for a year, while those given a serious warning cannot be promoted for 18 months.

The commissions said fighting the epidemic is the country's top priority, adding they would protect discipline inspection work strongly during the disease prevention and control effort.

The Red Cross Society of China's Hubei branch had come under criticism over the past week for misallocating donations, including surgical masks and other protective gear.