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
#28   Virgil
      
Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your
blog and wanted to mention that I've really enjoyed surfing around your weblog posts.

After all I will be subscribing for your rss feed and
I am hoping you write once more very soon!

my blog post Kkpoker Payday
20 July 2025 06:43
#27   Eldon
      
That is really fascinating, You are a very professional blogger.
I've joined your rss feed and look forward to in quest
of more of your fantastic post. Additionally, I have shared your
website in my social networks

Also visit my blog post - Timeshare Software for Vacation
19 July 2025 08:59
#26   Celeste
      
Hello! I could have sworn I've been to this web site before but after browsing through
a few of the articles I realized it's new to me. Anyways, I'm
definitely pleased I stumbled upon it and I'll be bookmarking it and checking back often!

Also visit my blog - lcl shipping from china
18 July 2025 20:03
#25   Aurelia
      
Your means of telling everything in this paragraph is truly pleasant, all be capable of easily know it,
Thanks a lot.

Also visit my web page; Бородавка покраснела и болит
18 July 2025 13:18
#24   Mellisa
      
I appreciate, cause I discovered just what I used to
be having a look for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt!
God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye

Also visit my page: m98 ทางเข้า
17 July 2025 16:18
#23   Soila
      
I think the admin of this web site is really working hard in favor of his web page,
as here every data is quality based stuff.

Also visit my site Our website; Juliana,
16 July 2025 20:24
#22   Virginia
      
After exploring a number of the blog articles on your
blog, I truly like your way of writing a blog.
I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking
back soon. Please visit my website as well and tell me
your opinion.

Here is my web site; lean drops effectiveness
16 July 2025 16:27
#21   Quyen
      
Thank you for any otheг informative site. Ꭲhе ρlace else ⅽould
I am gеtting that type of informatіon ᴡritten іn such a perfect way?
I've a mission that I am ϳust noѡ operating on, and I һave
beеn on the glance oᥙt fօr sᥙch info.

Нere іs my web site - https://sportscentre.org.nz/ (sportscentre.Ⲟrg.nz)
15 July 2025 21:25
#20   Issac
      
You are so cool! I don't think I have read through a single thing
like this before. So wonderful to discover someone with
some unique thoughts on this topic. Really..
many thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that is
required on the web, someone with some originality!


Here is my webpage - :
:ufabet::
14 July 2025 00:30
#19   Bernadette
      
It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future
and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and
if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or tips.
Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article.
I want to read even more things about it!

Feel free to surf to my blog - Click here
13 July 2025 18:38
#18   Arianne
      
Hi! I simply want to give you a huge thumbs up for the excellent information you have got right
here on this post. I am coming back to your site for
more soon.

my page: rare trx
12 July 2025 20:28
#17   Richelle
      
Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog.
Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I'm not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast.

I'm thinking about creating my own but I'm not sure where to start.
Do you have any points or suggestions? Many thanks

Feel free to surf to my site :: link
11 July 2025 22:30
#16   Hubert
      
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon everyday.
It's always interesting to read through content from other writers and use something
from other sites.

Also visit my page; Ботокс лица
11 July 2025 21:57
#15   Willian
      
I'm truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
It's a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come
here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Great work!

Feel free to surf to my web-site: vegas11 app download apk mod
11 July 2025 20:40
#14   Beatrice
      
Incredible! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
It's on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same page layout
and design. Great choice of colors!

Here is my blog post C1B file support
11 July 2025 02:57
#13   Glenn
      
Today, while I was at work, my profile at archdaily.com
cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five
foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has
83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
10 July 2025 22:26
#12   Leola
      
Does your site have a contact page? I'm having trouble locating it
but, I'd like to send you an email. I've got some suggestions for your blog
you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it grow over
time.

My website Крем
с эффектом ботокса
10 July 2025 14:40
#11   Mei
      
Họ còn ẩn link trong nội dung để SEO nhằm đẩy thứ hạng ảo spam hidden links seo
10 July 2025 08:51
#10   Anne
      
70918248

References:


Types Of steroids bodybuilding
9 July 2025 11:51
#9   Vicki
      
70918248

References:


What is the closest thing to steroids (https://www.aspgraphy.3Pixls.com/travel-diary-goa-trip/asp-travel-goa-1)
9 July 2025 07:21
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 ... 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31Next