(4) failing immediately to investigate and deal with the reports made by units or individuals about the failures of the health administration departments at lower levels to perform their duties of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases; and

(5) violations of this Law such as negligence of dereliction of duty.

Article 67 Where the relevant departments under the people's governments at or above the county level fail to perform their duties of prevention and treatment of and protection against infectious diseases in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the people's governments at the corresponding level or the relevant departments under the people's governments at a higher level shall order them to rectify and criticize them in a circular; where their failures cause the spread and prevalence of infectious diseases or other serious consequences, the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 68 Where the disease prevention and control institutions commit any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, the health administration departments under the people's governments at or above the county level shall order them to rectify within a time limit, criticize them in a circular and give them a disciplinary warning; the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be demoted, dismissed from office or discharged according to law, and the practicing certificates of the persons concerned who are responsible may, in addition, be revoked according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law:

(1) failing to perform their duty of monitoring infectious diseases according to law;

(2) failing to perform their duties of making a report on and circulating a notice about the epidemic situation of an infectious disease, as is required by law, or concealing the truth about or making a false report on or delaying report on the epidemic situation of an infectious disease;

(3) failing to take the initiative to collect information about the epidemic situation of infectious disease, or failing immediately to analyse, investigate and verify the information about and report on the epidemic situation of infectious diseases;

(4) when finding the epidemic situation of an infectious disease, failing immediately to take the measures prescribed by this Law in compliance with their duties; and

(5) purposely divulging information and materials relating to personal privacy of an infectious disease patient, a pathogen carrier, a suspected infectious disease patient, or persons in close contact with such patients.

Article 69 Where medical agencies commit any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, the health administration department under the people's governments at or above the county level shall order them to rectify, criticize them in a circular and give them a disciplinary warning; where their failures cause the spread and prevalence of the infectious disease or other serious consequences, the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be demoted, dismissed from office, or discharged according to law, and the practicing certificates of the persons concerned who are held responsible may, in addition, be revoked according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law:

(1) failing to perform the tasks of prevention and control of infectious diseases in their own units, of control of hospital infection and of prevention of infectious diseases within their responsibility areas in accordance with relevant regulations;

(2) failing to report the epidemic situation of an infectious disease in accordance with relevant regulations, or concealing the truth about, making a false report on or delaying report on the epidemic situation of an infectious disease;

(3) when finding the epidemic situation of an infectious disease, failing to give infectious disease patients or suspected infectious disease patients medical treatment, on-the-spot rescue, or outpatient treatment or to transfer such patients to other hospitals for treatment in accordance with relevant regulations, or refusing to accept transferred patients;

(4) failing to disinfect the places, objects and medical wastes of their own units that are contaminated with the pathogens of infectious disease or give them innocent treatment in accordance with relevant regulations;

(5) failing to disinfect medical apparatus and instruments in accordance with relevant regulations, or reusing disposable medical apparatus, instead of destroying them in accordance with relevant regulations;

(6) in the course of medical treatment, failing to preserve medical records and materials in accordance with relevant regulations; and

(7) purposely divulging information and materials relating to personal privacy of an infectious disease patient, a pathogen carrier, a suspected infectious disease patient, or persons in close contact with such patients.

Article 70 Where blood collectors and suppliers fail to report the epidemic situation of infectious diseases in accordance with relevant regulations, or conceal the truth about or make a false report on or delay report on such situation, or fail to implement the relevant regulations of the State, leading to the contracting of blood transmission diseases via blood transfusion, the health administration departments under the people's governments at or above the county level shall order them to rectify, criticize them in a circular and give them a disciplinary warning; where their failures cause the spread and prevalence of infectious diseases or other serious consequences, the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be demoted, dismissed from office or discharged according to law, and the practicing certificates of the blood collectors and suppliers may, in addition, be revoked according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Any agency that illegally collects blood or gets other persons to sell their blood shall be banned by the health administration department under the people's government at or above the county level, its unlawful gains shall be confiscated and it, may, in addition, be fined not more than RMB 100,000 yuan; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 71 Where frontier sanitation quarantine organs or animal epidemic prevention organs fail to perform their duty of circulating a notice of the epidemic situation of infectious diseases according to law, the departments concerned shall, within the scope of their duties, order them to rectify and criticize them in a circular; where their failures cause the spread and prevalence of the infectious diseases or other serious consequences, the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be demoted, dismissed from office or discharged according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 72 Where railway, communications and civil aviation services fail to give priority to the transportation of the persons for handling the epidemic situation of an infectious disease or of the medicines, medical apparatus and instruments for prevention and treatment of the infectious disease in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the departments concerned shall instruct it to rectify within a time limit and give them a disciplinary warning; and where serious consequences are caused, the persons in charge who should be held responsible and the other persons who are directly responsible shall be demoted, dismissed from office or discharged according to law.

Article 73 Where a unit commits any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, which leads to or may likely lead to the spread and prevalence of infectious diseases, the health administration departments under the people's government at or above the county level shall order them to rectify within a time limit, confiscate its unlawful gains and may, in addition, impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; if it has obtained a license, the department that originally issued the license may suspend or revoke the license according to law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law:

(1) for a drinking water supplier, failing to keep the drinking water supplied in conformity with the sanitary standards and norms of the State;

(2) failing to keep the products relating to sanitary safety of drinking water in conformity with the sanitary standards and norms of the State;

(3) failing to keep the disinfectant products used for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in conformity with the sanitary standards and norms of the State;