A Chinese doctor who issued an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak and was punished after raising the alarm died on Friday sparking a wave of public mourning.
The news of his death became the top top-read topic on China's microblogging site Weibo overnight on Friday, where people expressed outrage and sadness. The deadly Wuhan virus has killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China.
Li Wenliang was an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, China and had publicly revealed that he was one of eight people reprimanded by Wuhan police for spreading rumours about the deadly coronavirus.
Wenliang had sent a message to fellow doctors on December 20 in a chat group, warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid the infection. A few days later, he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter which accused him of making false comments that had severely disturbed the social order.
According to Reuters, Li on February 1 said on China's microblogging site Weibo that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.