China’s top anti-graft watchdogs have opened a disciplinary investigation into Zhou Xianwang, the former mayor of Wuhan who oversaw the city’s response to the first Covid-19 outbreak. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission said on 8 July that Zhou is suspected of “serious violations of disciplines and laws” and is now under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation. Zhou, 61, served as Wuhan’s mayor and the city’s Communist Party vice secretary from 2018 until early 2021, before becoming vice-chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The watchdogs did not disclose details of the alleged misconduct or the period when it occurred. During the initial coronavirus outbreak in late 2019 and early 2020, Zhou drew domestic and international criticism for delaying public warnings about the new virus and for the treatment of medical whistle-blowers. He resigned roughly a year after Wuhan imposed the world’s first large-scale lockdown in January 2020. The case extends President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, which has targeted officials at every level of government and state-owned enterprises over the past decade.