Health minister sacked over COVID-19 test kit scam
VGP – The National Assembly approved a resolution on Tuesday to remove Nguyen Thanh Long from the post of Health Minister for his involvement in a COVID-19 test kit scam.
Former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long
The sacking was made one day after the Party Central Committee decided to expel Nguyen and Chairman of Ha Noi Municipal People's Committee Chu Ngoc Anh who was former Minister of Science and Technology, from the Party.
Nguyen, aged 56, was appointed Minister of Health in November 2020.
Competent authorities concluded that the violations of regulations and mistakes committed by the Party committees at the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health had caused serious consequences.
The two officials have degraded in political ideology, morality and lifestyle, violated the Party's regulations and the State's laws, resulting in very severe consequences and big losses to the State budget, thus affecting the pandemic control work and causing great public concern along with bad impact on the prestige of the Party organization and the two ministries.
Also on Tuesday, the Politburo - a decision making of the Party Central Committee - assigned Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen to lead the Ministry of Health.
Do, aged 56, graduated from the Military Medical University.
He served as Chairman of the People's Council of the northern province of Hung Yen before being appointed as Deputy Minister of Health in 2019./.
