First whistleblower doctor succumbs to coronavirus; even in death China censors report

The 34-year-old whistleblower doctor, who was the first to publicly report about the coronavirus in Wuhan before it was officially recognised, has died from the disease on February 6.

Dr Li Wenliang (34), was among the 69 confirmed deaths in Hubei province (where Wuhan is situated), PTI reported. On February 1, via Weibo he had posted about testing positive for the coronavirus.

Li, an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, was the first to publicly report about the coronavirus infections in December 2019.

He posted in an alumni group on WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market were quarantined in his hospital after being diagnosed with an illness similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

He posted a picture of a test result confirming a 'SARS-like' coronavirus in a patient sample, according to a screenshot of the WeChat conversations seen and verified by Reuters.

Li became one of the most visible figures in the crisis when he revealed that he was one of the eight whistleblowers who were reprimanded by Wuhan police for 'rumour-mongering'.

A letter to Li from the Wuhan police bureau on January 3 said he had 'severely disrupted social order' with his WeChat messages. He was asked to sign the letter as a promise to stop such illegal behaviour immediately and told that if he refused to comply he would face criminal charges.

People reacted to the news of Li's death with an outpouring of grief and anger, with the topic becoming the top-read one on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo on February 7, Reuters reported.

The news report gathered over 1.5 billion views and featured heavily in discussions in private group chats on WeChat. Multiple media reports described Li as a 'hero who was willing to speak the truth' while other commentators posted poems, photos and drawings saluting him.

One condolence on Weibo post said: "Light a candle and pay tribute to the hero. You were the beam of light in the night."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also tweeted their condolences for Li saying: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on #2019nCoV" (sic)

At today's #2019nCoV media briefing @DrMikeRyan was asked about reports that Dr Li Wenliang had passed away, and he expressed condolences.

WHO has no information on the status of Dr Li. pic.twitter.com/59UzWpcfa7

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 6, 2020

There were, however, signs that discussions of his death are being censored, Reuters added.

One example the agency noted was the topic "the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology," which trended briefly on February 6, but yielded no search results on February 7.

The Wuhan hospital where Li worked said on its Weibo account that he died at 2.58 am local time on February 7. Reuters has been unable to reach Li's family.

Reports of Li's death had surfaced before midnight local time in China as local state media such as the Global Times posted on their Twitter accounts that he had died, before deleting the posts later.

His treatment by authorities triggered memories of how China in 2003 was accused of trying to cover up a major outbreak of SARS, a previously unknown virus believed to have emerged from the wet markets of Guangdong province before spreading into major cities and other countries.

China has vowed repeatedly to be open and transparent in dealing with the coronavirus situation. Confirmed deaths on the mainland touched 636, with total confirmed cases over 31,000, health officials said on February 7.

Deaths recorded on February 6 were 73, of which Hubei province (where Wuhan is situated) alone reported 69 deaths. Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one death each, China's National Health Commission said.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)