He is an emblematic figure in the awareness of the dangers of the new coronavirus which has just died at the central hospital in Wuhan. Li Wenliang, 34, one of the first Chinese doctors to sound the alarm in December, which earned him reprimands from the authorities, died of the disease caused by the virus early Friday, said the hospital where he was cared for. His death provoked sadness and anger reactions on Chinese social networks.
It sounds the alarm from December 30
An ophthalmologist, he had observed patients with symptoms similar to those of SARS, this respiratory syndrome which had taken on epidemic proportions in 2002-2003. On December 30, he sent a message to colleagues advising them to protect themselves with masks and coveralls and, a little later, found himself singled out by the authorities, accused of spreading rumors with seven other people.
Li Wenliang said that he had been ordered to sign a letter acknowledging that he had "made false comments" and "severely disrupted social order". However, the Chinese Supreme Court later found that the whistleblowers had been treated "inappropriately". He was then infected while treating the sick and was hailed as a hero on the Chinese internet.
To date, 28,000 people have been infected in China, of which more than 560 people have died, according to official figures, despite the quarantine of millions of people.
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