Li Wenliang, a Chinese ophthalmologist who voiced an early warning about the coronavirus that has since infected more than 31,000 people, died today (February 7) after contracting the disease himself, according to People’s Daily. The New York Times reports that Li’s attempts to warn the Wuhan community about the virus early on were shut down by local police and medical officials. Li was 34 years old, married, and expecting his second child.
“A hero who released information about Wuhan’s epidemic in the early stage, Dr. Li Wenliang is immortal,” writes Zen Guang, chief scientist at the China Center for Disease Control, on the Sina Weibo microblog service, according to the Associated Press.
“We will not forget the doctor who spoke up about an illness that was called rumor,” one person commented in reaction to an announcement of Li’s death on Weibo by Wuhan City Central Hospital, where Li had worked ...
