Coronavirus 'kills Chinese whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang'
6-02-2020, 22:39

Font size: [ A+ ] / [ A- ]

A Chinese doctor who tried to issue the first warnings about the deadly coronavirus outbreak has died of the infection, Chinese media say.

Li Wenliang was working as an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital when he sent out a warning to fellow medics on 30 December.

Police then visited him to tell him to stop, as authorities tried to keep the news under wraps.

The virus has now killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a flu.

 

What is Li Wenliang's story?

 

The ophthalmologist posted his story on the Weibo site from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning.

Dr Li, 34, had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars - the virus that led to a global epidemic in 2003.

On 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.

Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter. In the letter he was accused of "making false comments" that had "severely disturbed the social order".

He was one of eight people who police said were being investigated for "spreading rumours"

Local authorities later apologised to Dr Li.

In his Weibo post he describes how on 10 January he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in hospital. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on 30 January.

A number of posts on Chinese social media sites have expressed sorrow over his death.

A tweet sent out by the state-run People's Daily said that Dr Li's death had sparked "national grief".

Most of the coronavirus victims were over the age of 60 or suffered from other medical conditions, according to China's health authorities. Dr Li's medical history is not known.

 

What is the latest on the virus in China?

 

China is introducing more restrictive measures to try to control the outbreak.

Beijing has banned group dining for events such as birthdays and weddings while cities such as Hangzhou and Nanchang are limiting how many family members can leave home each day.

Hubei province, the worst hit by the virus, has switched off lifts in high-rise buildings to discourage residents from going outside.

Its capital, Wuhan, has a lack of beds and equipment, one senior city official said. Despite the rapid construction of two hospitals, the volume of patients is causing severe strain.

Reports on social media say the Wuhan government is to carry out door-to-door temperature checks on residents.

The city of Dali in Yunnan province was accused of requisitioning a shipment of masks bound for Chongqing. Dali's government said it could not do anything as the boxes had already been distributed.

The cities of Qingdao and Shenyang also reportedly squabbled over a medical shipment.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has seen panic buying of goods, including toilet rolls, and there have been huge queues for masks.

 

What has the response been to the crackdowns?

 

Human Rights Watch has criticised them, saying China was "treating public health with a sledgehammer".

Executive director Kenneth Roth said China had suppressed reports in the early days of the outbreak and clamped down on criticism of its handling of the crisis.

"There's no place for secrecy in fighting an epidemic," he said.

Although he praised Beijing for quickly sharing the DNA sequence of the virus, he attacked the lockdowns policy.

"Quarantines of this sort typically don't work. Quarantines, the kind that public health officials advocate, are much more targeted. They're aimed at people who have been identified as having the virus," he said.

Mr Roth said there were "huge gaps" in getting people fed, housed and treated.

Chinese officials have strongly defended their approach.

The latest figure to speak out was the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, who said the government was doing everything it could to control, prevent and cure the coronavirus.

But he also said the UK had overreacted by advising an estimated 30,000 British nationals in China to leave and that there had been discrimination against Chinese nationals in the UK.

 

What's the latest on infections?

 

Although the virus has spread overseas, with confirmed infection in some 25 nations, there have so far been only two deaths outside mainland China - one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, saying if funds are not allocated now to tackle the outbreak, nations would pay for it later.

Although the official figures in China are of 28,000 infections, some scientists have estimated that the actual rate could be 10 times higher, with the majority of infected people only presenting mild symptoms, not receiving treatment, yet passing on the potentially deadly disease.

The UK on Thursday confirmed a third case of the virus.

Some 3,700 people on the Diamond Princess cruise vessel moored off Japan face testing and quarantine for at least two weeks. It has seen on 20 virus cases.

Another cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew is quarantined in Hong Kong with three cases on board.

 

BBC 

Comments: 744
#744   Brooke
      
Diese Alternativen bieten ähnliche Vorteile, wie schnelle Einzahlungen und hohe Sicherheitsstandards, jedoch mit unterschiedlichen Auszahlungsoptionen und -geschwindigkeiten. Die Sofortüberweisung ist eine schnelle und beliebte Zahlungsmethode, die es Spielern ermöglicht,
sofort Geld in Casinos mit Sofortüberweisung einzuzahlen, ohne zusätzliche
Registrierungsschritte. Diese Zahlungsmethode funktioniert genauso schnell und sicher wie auf Desktop-Seiten, sodass Spieler unterwegs bequem Einzahlungen in Online Casinos mit Sofortüberweisung vornehmen können. Diese
Spiele sind in Online Casinos mit Sofortüberweisung verfügbar und oft auch über mobile Versionen zugänglich, sodass Spieler sie unterwegs genießen können.

References: https://thebigfootclub.com
31 October 2026 13:08
#743   Maynard
      
References:


Best pay id pokies payid pokies reviews
30 October 2026 04:10
#742   Morgan
      
References:


Trusted payid pokies australia jzq5.cn
29 October 2026 02:30
#741   Jefferson
      
References:


Osko instant withdrawal casino hedgedoc.envs.net
28 October 2026 11:06
#740   Lakesha
      
References:


MiFinity casino payout Australia bbs.airav.cc
27 October 2026 17:02
#738   Stanton
      
References:


1 minimum deposit casino australia payid http://bbs.51pinzhi.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=8486001
24 October 2026 03:54
#737   Napoleon
      
References:


Osko pokies no deposit bonus Osko casino review
21 October 2026 04:39
#736   Charity
      
References:


Osko online casino Osko
direct bank transfer casino
20 October 2026 16:10
#735   Gina
      
References:


Osko direct bank transfer casino https://hedgedoc.dawan.fr/ipuy37bfT8qMUHUaV5WNCw
20 October 2026 12:29
#734   Keenan
      
References:


Mastercard debit card pokies australia https://may22.ru/user/shearsspider8/
20 October 2026 03:35
#733   Margarette
      
Stop by my web blog ... Highstakes Online
20 October 2026 02:29
#732   Flynn
      
References:


Bpay pokies minimum deposit brandmoshaver.com
18 October 2026 14:02
#731   Lemuel
      
References:


Top bpay pokies https://topsitenet.com
18 October 2026 13:51
#730   Jodi
      
References:


Wire transfer casino minimum deposit https://www.fuoristrada.shop/user/profile/12342
16 October 2026 18:55
#729   Jared
      
References:


Bank transfer casino deposit Australia gardenwiki.site
16 October 2026 15:51
#728   Andy
      
References:


Casinos that accept Osko https://bridgedesign.site
16 October 2026 13:31
#727   Lenard
      
We're a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community.
Your site provided us with valuable information to work on. You have done
a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful
to you.

Look at my website: WLT document file
16 October 2026 10:33
#726   Christoper
      
References:


Osko pokies real money https://fzquan8.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=224025
16 October 2026 10:23
#725   Aja
      
References:


BPay casino withdrawal Australia low deposit BPay casino Australia
14 October 2026 10:37
Add Comments

Name:*
E-Mail:
  Geo Keyboard  
 

Dear reader, guardian.ge welcomes your comments. Please express your views on topic and be respectful of others.

bold italic underline strike | align left centered align right | Ensert smilies insert linkInsert protected URL Choice the color | hidden text insert quote Convert selected text from transliteration to Cyrillic alphabet Insert spoiler

Code: *


Back1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 38Next