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 caused by a novel coronavirus, the province's anti-corruption and supervisory watchdogs said on Tuesday.

In a news release they 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 during the epidemic prevention and control effort, 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 a member of the branch's leading Party group, from his posts, giving him a serious warning within the Party and a disciplinary punishment for his big mistakes at work.

Chen Bo, another member of the branch's leading Party group, received a serious warning from the Party and a disciplinary punishment for big mistakes 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.