Medical staff walks past a makeshift memorial to the late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang at the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital on February 7 (AFP Photo/STR, STR) |
Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese doctor punished after raising the alarm about the new coronavirus died Friday after being infected by the pathogen, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger over a worsening crisis that has now killed more than 630 people.
At least
31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang brought
to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim.
The virus
is believed to have emerged from a market selling exotic animals in Wuhan
before jumping to humans and spreading across China and abroad as millions
travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Researchers
at the South China Agricultural University have identified the endangered
pangolin as a "potential intermediate host" for the disease, as the
genome sequences of viruses found on the scaly mammal are 99 percent identical
to those on coronavirus patients.
The virus
has since spread across China, prompting the government to lock down cities of
tens of millions of people, and panic has spiralled around the globe as more
than 240 cases have emerged in two dozen countries.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, announced it would forcibly quarantine arrivals from mainland China beginning Saturday, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months in prison.
The media
keep watch on the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000
people on board
as it sits in quarantine at Yokohama port (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro NOGI)
|
Hong Kong, meanwhile, announced it would forcibly quarantine arrivals from mainland China beginning Saturday, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months in prison.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, whose countries have
tussled over trade and human rights, spoke on the phone about the health
emergency.
"We
talked about, mostly about the coronavirus. They're working really hard and I
think they're doing a very professional job," Trump told reporters at the
White House.
Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States would offer up to $100 million
to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Beijing has
been angered by bans on arrivals from China instituted by the United States and
other countries.
Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, an announcement that triggered deep sadness on social media over a doctor hailed as a hero.
A
laboratory technician works on coronavirus samples at "Fire Eye"
laboratory
in Wuhan (AFP Photo/STR, STR)
|
Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, an announcement that triggered deep sadness on social media over a doctor hailed as a hero.
"He is
a hero who warned others with his life," a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on
Weibo.
There was
also a rare collective bout of anger at the authorities and bold demands,
including the hashtag "we demand freedom of speech", which was
censored.
"Those
fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm,"
wrote another Weibo user in a comment that was later scrubbed.
In a sign
that the criticism has shaken the Communist government, its anti-graft agency
announced that it was sending a team to Wuhan to "conduct a comprehensive
investigation into issues involving Dr. Li Wenliang reported by the
masses".
A deserted
street in Shanghai, as fear of the spread of the virus impacts
cities across
China, even those not in lockdown (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)
|
The foreign
ministry and the National Health Commission expressed condolences for his
death.
Death
censored
Li's death
has also highlighted the enormous risks that frontline doctors have taken to
treat patients in overwhelmed and under-equipped hospitals in Wuhan, the
quarantined city of 11 million people where the virus emerged in December.
Medical
staff are overstretched and lack sufficient protective gear, the deputy
governor of Hubei province admitted Thursday.
Li sent out
a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on December 30 in Wuhan but
was later among a group of people summoned by police for
"rumour-mongering".
He later
contracted the disease while treating a patient.
Censors
appeared to struggle with how to deal with his death.
Striking
medical workers demand Hong Kong close the border with China
to contain the
virus (AFP Photo/Philip FONG)
|
State-run
newspaper Global Times and state broadcaster CCTV first reported on Weibo that
Li had died late Thursday, only to delete their posts after the death rapidly
surged to be among the top topics on the popular platform.
Analysts
have said local authorities played down the extent of the outbreak in early
January because they were holding political meetings at the time and wanted to
project an aura of stability.
The first
fatality was reported on January 11. The death toll has since soared to 636,
with 73 more reported on Friday and an additional 3,000 new infections.
Global
spread
To control
the spread, authorities have placed some 56 million people in Wuhan and
surrounding cities under virtual lockdown.
Authorities in Wuhan are "combing" communities to find people suspected or confirmed to have the virus and place them in quarantine, state media said.
Posters warn residents in Beijing to take protective measures against the coronavirus (AFP Photo/GREG BAKER) |
Authorities in Wuhan are "combing" communities to find people suspected or confirmed to have the virus and place them in quarantine, state media said.
Major
airlines have suspended flights to and from the country, while several
countries have advised their citizens to leave China.
But cases
keep emerging.
Two cruise
ships carrying thousands of holidaymakers in Hong Kong and Japan have been
placed under quarantine as authorities test people for infections.
On Friday
another 41 people tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan, bringing
the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61.
Timeline of
events leading to the death of coronavirus whistleblower
Chinese doctor Li
Wenliang. (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)
|
Another
cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with coronavirus will
not be allowed to dock in southern Japan, the government said Friday.
In Hong
Kong, 3,600 people are facing a third night confined aboard the World Dream,
where eight former passengers have tested positive for the virus.
While
global concerns mount, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that that
world was facing a "chronic shortage" of masks and other protective
equipment.
Apple
contractor Foxconn said Friday it would start making face masks alongside
iPhones at its Shenzhen factory, aiming for 20 million by the end of February.
At least
31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang
brought
to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim
|
The death of a whistleblowing doctor who was reprimanded for warning about the new coronavirus has sparked rare calls for political reform and free speech in China https://t.co/sSQVtqwdDy— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 9, 2020
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