SCMP reported that Jilin Provincial Party Committee issued a statement on May 15 that City Party Secretary Shu Lan Li Pengfei was removed and Jilin City deputy governor Zhang Jinghui will take over Mr. Li’s position.

Information of Mr. Li’s dismissal was published in the context that more than 8,000 people in Jilin were isolated because of a community outbreak in Shu Lan. The city is currently the only place in China that is classified as "high risk".

According to SCMP , on May 16, five more local officials were removed, including deputy heads of the health agency, director of Jilin epidemic control center, along with the director of the health department, deputy leader. Party leaders of the police and director of the Lan Lan Disease Control Center.

As of May 15, 28 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Jilin, of which 16 were from Shu Lan.

On May 16, a total of 31 community infections, including one in neighboring Liaoning province, involved a 45-year-old woman who worked in the laundry department of the Shu Lan police agency.

The reason why this woman got sick is still a mystery because she did not move out of the city or contact anyone who came back from abroad recently. In addition, this locality did not register any cases 73 days before the woman was confirmed positive for Covid-19.

The Chinese government sent a team to Jilin to help local experts fight the epidemic.

On May 13, Jilin reversed the decision to send children back to school, demanding that schools close again. Social gatherings were banned while public facilities were closed indefinitely.

China currently has more than 82,900 cases of Covid-19 and 4,633 deaths from disease.