SHANGHAI : One of the first Chinese doctors who tried to warn the world about a new coronavirus died on Friday from the illness, prompting an outpouring of sorrow and rage on Chinese social media, as Beijing declared a “people’s war” on the fast-spreading outbreak.
China’s anti-graft watchdog has launched a probe into his death. Li Wenliang, 34, was an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, was reprimanded by the police for spreading “rumours” about the coronavirus outbreak in China.
As of Thursday, 636 people have died due to the virus outbreak with the total number of confirmed cases jumping to 3,143,
China’s ruling Communist Party has sent a high-level investigation team to the epidemic-hit Wuhan city in Central Hubei province to probe Li Wenliang’s death on Thursday. The doctor died due to the very virus he desperately tried to highlight in December last year through social media and has become a national icon with millions of netizens expressing their grief and anger over the way he was treated. (Agencies)
