Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Chinese Doctor Who Sounded the Alarm About the Virus Dies
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
February 6, 2020

Share

BEIJING — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died Friday after coming down with the illness.
The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was “unfortunately infected during the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection.”

“If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier. I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.” Dr. Li Wenliang
“We deeply regret and mourn this,” it added.
Li was reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumors” about the illness in late December, according to news reports. The outbreak, centered in Wuhan, has now infected over 28,200 people globally and killed more than 560, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines around the world and a crisis inside the country of 1.4 billion.
The World Health Organization tweeted: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did” on the virus.
Within a half-hour of announcing earlier Friday that Li was in critical condition, the hospital received nearly 500,000 comments on its social media post, many of them from people hoping Li would pull through. One wrote: “We are not going to bed. We are here waiting for a miracle.”
Li was among a number of medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, The New York Times reported earlier this week. It said that after the mystery illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, Li said of them in an online chat group Dec. 30: “Quarantined in the emergency department.”
Another participant in the chat responded by wondering, “Is SARS coming again?” — a reference to the 2002-03 viral outbreak that killed hundreds, the newspaper said.
Wuhan health officials summoned Li in the middle of the night to explain why he shared the information, and police later forced him to sign a statement admitting to “illegal behavior,” the Times said.
“If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier,” Li said in an interview in the Times via text messages, “I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”
Photo of people wearing face masks at a pharmacy in Hong Kong
People wearing face masks queue up to purchase tissue papers at a pharmacy in Hong Kong, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Ten more people were sickened with a new virus aboard one of two quarantined cruise ships with some 5,400 passengers and crew aboard, health officials in Japan said Thursday, as China reported 73 more deaths and announced that the first group of patients were expected to start taking a new antiviral drug. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
In other developments in the outbreak:

Youngest Victim

A newborn in China became the youngest known person infected with the virus.
The baby was born Saturday in Wuhan and confirmed positive just 36 hours after birth, authorities said. But precisely how the child became infected was unclear.
“The baby was immediately separated from the mother after the birth and has been under artificial feeding. There was no close contact with the parents, yet it was diagnosed with the disease,” Zeng Lingkong, director of neonatal diseases at Wuhan Children’s Hospital, told Chinese TV.
Zeng said other infected mothers have given birth to babies who tested negative, so it is not yet known if the virus can be transmitted in the womb.

More Hospital Beds

China finished building a second new hospital Thursday to isolate and treat patients — a 1,500-bed center in Wuhan. Earlier this week, another rapidly constructed, 1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms began taking patients.
Authorities also moved people with milder symptoms into makeshift hospitals at sports arenas, exhibition halls and other public spaces.
All together, more than 50 million people are under virtual quarantine in hard-hit Hubei province in an unprecedented — and unproven — bid to bring the outbreak under control.
In Hong Kong, hospital workers demanding a shutdown of the territory’s border with mainland China were on strike for a fourth day. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced a 14-day quarantine of all travelers entering the city from the mainland starting Saturday, but the government has refused to seal the border entirely.

Photo of masked officials carrying boxes of digital thermometers
A masked official carry boxes containing digital thermometers for the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at Yokohama Port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The 3,700 people on board faced a two-week quarantine in their cabins. Health workers said 10 more people from the Diamond Princess were confirmed sickened with the virus, in addition to 10 others who tested positive on Wednesday. The 10 will be dropped off as the ship docks and transferred to nearby hospitals for further test and treatment. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Quarantined Cruise Ships

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

“It’s going to be like a floating prison.” — passenger David Abel
Ten passengers confirmed to have the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at the port of Yokohama near Tokyo, after 10 others were taken off the previous day.
“It’s going to be like a floating prison,” passenger David Abel lamented on Facebook. He had set out on a 50th wedding anniversary luxury cruise but found himself in his cabin, eating a “lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside.”
More than 3,600 people on the other quarantined ship, the World Dream, underwent screening after eight passengers were diagnosed with the virus.

New Drug

Testing of a new antiviral drug was set to begin on a group of patients Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The drug, Remdesivir, is made by U.S. biotech company Gilead Sciences.
Antivirals and other drugs can reduce the severity of an illness, but “so far, no antivirals have been proven effective” against the new virus, said Thanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of Thailand’s Disease Control Department in the Health Ministry. He said there are a lot of unknowns, “but we have a lot of hope as well.”

Photo of commuters wearing face masks in Thailand
Commuters wear face masks to protect themselves from new virus in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 28,200 people globally. Thailand has 25 cases as of Thursday. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

More Fallout

From Europe to Australia and the U.S., universities that host Chinese students or have study-abroad programs are scrambling to assess the risks, and some are canceling opportunities and prohibiting student travel.
Central banks in the Philippines and Thailand have cut their interest rates to fend off economic damage from the outbreak in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, with 1.4 billion people. China is a major source of tourists in Asia, and corporations around the world depend on its factories to supply products and its consumers to buy them.
The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics again sought to allay fears that the 2020 Games could be postponed or canceled because of the crisis.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

No data was found

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

1 hour ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

2 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

2 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

2 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

3 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

3 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

4 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

6 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

6 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

6 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

SAN DIEGO — Jake Cronenworth’s two-run double highlighted a four-run seventh inning for the San Diego Padres, who beat the San Francis...

51 mins ago

51 mins ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

1 hour ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

1 hour ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

1 hour ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

2 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

2 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

2 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

3 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend