A Chinese doctor who tried to warn fellow medics of the coronavirus outbreak has died after contracting the virus himself, according to state-run media.
Chinese doctor #LiWenliang, one of the eight "whistleblowers" who tried to warn other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by local police, died from #coronavirus at 2:58 am Friday, the hospital where he received treatment announced. https://t.co/eCrNha7Nn1 pic.twitter.com/WYwDxZFBej
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 6, 2020
Ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang – aged 34 – passed away at 2:58am on Friday after hours of confusion over his fate.
He underwent emergency at Wuhan Central Hospital late on Thursday as state-run news outlets, including Global Times, CGTN, Beijing News and Caixin, retracted reports that he had died.
Li Wenliang. Photo: Li Wenliang.
Condolences had already begun pouring in across Chinese social media, with the World Health Organization paid tribute: “We all need to celebrate work that he did on #2019nCoV.”
Looks like @globaltimesnews deleted this tweet, which had been widely shared, about the [reported/rumored] passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. This is not typically how the CCP controls the message. But it's not everyday that an entire nation mourns the loss of a whistleblowing hero. pic.twitter.com/GQ71ecYV9X
— GreatFire.org (@GreatFireChina) February 6, 2020
Li was among eight people reprimanded by police in December for “rumour-mongering” over the SARS-like virus, though he was later hailed as a “whistleblower” in state media posts.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on #2019nCoV – @DrMikeRyan
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 6, 2020
Li had told other medics in a chat message that they should wear protective clothing to avoid infection. He was summoned by the Public Security Bureau where officers made him sign a letter stating that he had made “false comments” and had “severely disturbed the social order.”
Local authorities eventually apologised to Li, but – in January – he contracted the virus whilst he was treating a woman with glaucoma, according to the BBC. “Today nucleic acid testing came back with a positive result, the dust has settled, finally diagnosed,” he wrote last Thursday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
Police in Central China's Wuhan arrested 8 people spreading rumors about local outbreak of unidentifiable #pneumonia. Previous online posts said it was SARS. https://t.co/oVpk4EIYM7 pic.twitter.com/JXbK9pmq8v
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 1, 2020
There have been over 28,000 confirmed cases of new infections worldwide and over 560 deaths – including one in Hong Kong, according to official figures.
The novel virus resembles the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed more than 300 people in Hong Kong in 2003.
