Chinese authorities punish Covid outbreak in closed city

Beijing: China's disciplinary body said on Friday that dozens of officials have been punished over the virus outbreak in the closed city of Xi'an - the latest state rebuke under Beijing's strict zero-Covid approach. China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in the capital Beijing in February. The world's most populous country has reported fewer cases thanks to a zero-Covid strategy of stringent border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. But cases have been rising rapidly in recent weeks - with Xi'an,…