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: 608
#228   Anja
      
certainly like your website however you need to check the spelling on quite a few
of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the
truth nevertheless I will certainly come back again.

Feel free to visit my page :: sga123
3 October 2025 01:39
#227   Finley
      
3 October 2025 01:04
#226   verizon business login
      
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article.

I'll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more
of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will definitely return. https://verlzoribusiness.com/
2 October 2025 23:56
#225   Milla
      
Visit my homepage Www.Mhcf.Net
2 October 2025 07:24
#224   Tasha
      
Feel free to surf to my blog :: PokerTube - Watch
Free Poker Videos & TV Shows
1 October 2025 19:03
#223   диплом с занесением в реестр купить
      
Thanks for finally writing about >Coronavirus 'kills Chinese whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang' » GUARDIAN.GE
<Loved it! https://www.skillona.org/employer/shopy/
1 October 2025 14:04
#222   Charla
      
Feel free to visit my web blog :: fazi high rtp slots you can play Now
1 October 2025 06:49
#221   Klaus
      
30 September 2025 06:16
#220   Jerold
      
30 September 2025 04:25
#219   Launa
      
29 September 2025 19:12
#218   Roscoe
      
my blog post; www.Google.no
29 September 2025 11:56
#217   Phillip
      
Здравствуйте, форумчане!
Сегодня хочу затронуть тему, которая долго меня увлекает — что
увидеть в Китае. Эта держава с многовековой
историей и культурой открывает массу замечательных
мест, которые нужно исследовать.
Расскажу о своими наблюдениями и эмоциями, которые,
полагаю, будут интересны и познавательны.


Если говорить о must-see, то сложно не заметить Великую китайскую стену — воплощение силы и стойкости, восхищающий
своими размерами и удивительными пейзажами.
Кроме того, невозможно не отметить Запретный
город в Пекине — настоящий
архитектурный шедевр, где каждый фрагмент дышит старинной историей.
Эти два памятника олицетворяют дух страны и заряжают
потрясающей энергией гостя.


В заключение хочу отметить, что Китай — это страна, где каждый обнаружит что-то особенное: от шумных мегаполисов до тихих древних деревень.
А как вы полагаете? Какие места в Китае оказали на
вас самое глубокое воздействие?
Будет любопытно услышать ваше видение и рассказы!


Зеленоградск Калининград
29 September 2025 10:54
#216   Angelika
      
What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable know-how concerning unpredicted feelings.


Here is my webpage ... m98 เข้าสู่ระบบ
28 September 2025 19:26
#215   Anderson
      
With havin so much content and articles do you ever
run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My blog
has a lot of exclusive content I've either authored myself or outsourced but it
appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the
web without my permission. Do you know any methods to help prevent content from being
ripped off? I'd truly appreciate it.

Feel free to surf to my webpage; simon-notaires.fr
28 September 2025 16:50
#214   Wally
      
Here is my site free poker

Hi, i believe that i noticed you visited my weblog so i got here
to return the favor?.I am attempting to to find issues to improve my site!I assume its ok to use a
few of your ideas!!

Here is my web-site Safe Poker Games Online
27 September 2025 16:26
#213   Jaime
      
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I'm impressed!
Very useful information particularly the last part :)
I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this certain info
for a long time. Thank you and good luck.

Also visit my website - ufabet
27 September 2025 08:57
#212   Tilly
      
After I originally commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are
added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I receive four emails with the same comment.
There has to be a way you are able to remove me from that service?
Thanks a lot!

Feel free to surf to my blog post ... Http://sadon.psend.com/
26 September 2025 11:02
#211   Belinda
      
26 September 2025 06:02
#210   Robin
      
26 September 2025 04:23
#209   Brittney
      
I just like the valuable info you provide for your articles.
I'll bookmark your blog and check again right here frequently.
I'm somewhat certain I'll learn lots of new stuff right right here!
Best of luck for the following!

Also visit my page - Betflik168
26 September 2025 00:17
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 ... 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ... 31Next