Chinese doctor who raised early alarm over coronavirus dies

[webfact]

Chinese doctor who raised early alarm over coronavirus dies; Beijing declares 'people's war'

By David Stanway and Roxanne Liu

 

A woman wears a mask at Yuyuan Garden, during the extended Chinese Lunar New Year holiday as the country is hit by an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Shanghai, China February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

 

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - One of the first Chinese doctors who tried to warn the world about a new coronavirus died on Friday from the illness, prompting an outpouring of sorrow on Chinese social media, as Beijing declared a "people's war" on the fast-spreading outbreak.

 

Li Wenliang, 34, was an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, the city hardest hit by the outbreak.

 

He and seven others were reprimanded by Wuhan police last month for spreading "illegal and false" information about the coronavirus after he warned doctors on social media about seven cases of a mysterious new virus to try to help other physicians.

 

Many ordinary Chinese people on social media described Li as a hero and a tragic figure, reflecting the incompetence of local authorities to tackle the emergence of the virus early in the outbreak.

 

On Friday, China's Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, reported 69 new deaths, taking the total in China to over 600. It also reported nearly 2,500 new cases, taking the total in China to over 30,000, according to state television. Figures for all of mainland China were expected to follow shortly.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to reassure his citizens and the world that China would beat the coronavirus.

 

"The whole country has responded with all its strength to respond with the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures, starting a people's war for epidemic prevention and control," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying in a telephone call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman.

In a striking image of the epidemic's reach, about 3,700 people moored off Japan on the Diamond Princess faced testing and quarantine for at least two weeks on the ship, which has 20 cases.

 

China's capital would typically be thronged with morning traffic and tourists heading to Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People and the Forbidden City. But with the coronavirus outbreak, the city is deserted.

 

In Hong Kong, another cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew was quarantined for a second day pending testing with three cases on board. Taiwan, which has 13 cases, banned international cruise ships from docking.

 

In China, sometimes dubbed the world's workshop, cities have been shut off, flights cancelled and factories closed, cutting off supply lines crucial to international businesses.

 

CORPORATE FALLOUT

Companies including Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS>, Tesla Inc <TSLA.O>, Ford Motor Co <F.N>, PSA Peugeot Citroen <PEUP.PA>, Nissan Motor Co Ltd <7201.T>, Airbus <AIR.PA>, Adidas <ADSGn.DE> and Foxconn <2317.TW> are taking hits.

 

Financial analysts have cut China's growth outlook, with ratings agency Moody's flagging risks for auto sales and output.

 

Nintendo Co Ltd <7974.T> warned of delays to production and shipping of its Switch console and other goods to the Japan market. Honda Motor Co <7267.T> was considering keeping operations suspended for longer than planned at its three plants in Wuhan, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported.

 

Indonesia said it stands to lose $4 billion in tourism if travel from China is disrupted for the whole year.

 

More than two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in Asia, where billions of dollars worth of deals are usually done, have been postponed.

 

Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, hit by months of anti-government unrest, said the coronavirus was hurting its economy and urged banks to adopt a "sympathetic stance" with borrowers.

 

But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he still expected China to maintain its commitment to boost purchases of American goods and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years, as part of a Phase 1 trade deal.

 

And stock markets across the world rose, buoyed by record highs on Wall Street and a move by China to halve tariffs on some U.S. goods that emboldened bets the global economy would avoid long-term damage from the virus.

 

China, which has bristled at being ostracised, was considering delaying an annual meeting of its highest legislative body, the National People's Congress, from March 5, sources said.

 

RUSH FOR HIV DRUG

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was too early to say the outbreak was peaking.

 

One Chinese official said the crisis could be nearing its peak, with just over 1,300 patients discharged from hospitals, although the number of new patients diagnosed with coronavirus was still rising.

 

"I have full confidence that we're going to get ahead of it," the official said. "The biggest challenge is still to control the spread of the disease, and let all the suspected patients be cured in the hospital."

 

Devy, a 38-year-old from Shandong province, said he was among hundreds who had asked people with HIV for antiviral medicine.

 

"When you are left alone, seeing the blur shadow of death far away, I think no one can feel calm," Devy told Reuters.

 

People were also desperate for face masks. The city of Dali, in southwestern Yunnan province, with only eight confirmed cases of the virus, was accused of intercepting a shipment of masks bound for a municipality with 400 cases.

 

In the overwhelmed province of Hubei, authorities said they needed another 2,250 medical staff at least.

 

Around a nation unaccustomed to widespread working from home, the epidemic has forced millions of white-collar workers to get used to just that.

 

For a graphic on Online package of China virus news:

https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH/0100B59Y39P/index.html 

 

For a graphic on Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS:

https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS-COMPARISON/0100B5BY3CY/index.html 

 

For a graphic on Tracking the novel coronavirus:

https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html 

 

(Reporting by Lusha Zhang, Ryan Woo, Roxanne Liu, Liangping Gao, Sophie Yu and Se Young Lee in Beijing; David Stanway, Yilei Sun and Winni Zhou in Shanghai; Alun John and Noah Sin in Hong Kong; Ju-min Park in Tokyo; Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Kate Kelland in London; Writing by Nick Macfie, William Maclean and Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Alexandra Hudson and Bill Berkrot)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-07

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[RubbaJohnny]

 

Meanwhile the toll mounts over 10 x figure of Jan 21st

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/cloneofchina-coronavirus-outbreak-latest-updates-200206231352529.html

 

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has risen anew to 636, according to the government on Friday.

There had been a further 3,143 cases detected across the country, majority of which are from Hubei, the province at the epicentre of the outbreak, pushing the total number of infections up to 31,161.

[smedly]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - One of the first Chinese doctors who tried to warn the world about a new coronavirus died on Friday from the illness, prompting an outpouring of sorrow on Chinese social media, as Beijing declared a "people's war" on the fast-spreading outbreak.

only 25 cases in Thailand 

 

That is either a miracle or ….………………… superb management 

 

or 

[bluesofa]

Oddly, there's a different story in The Telegraph, saying he was reported as dying, then the Chinese media deleted their story, saying he was fighting for his life:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-feared-dead-wuhan/

 

[realfunster]

Well, seems unclear if he has actually passed away ?

 

Anyway, the good doctor is a hero in my eyes, putting the truth and danger to the public above his personal considerations.

 

Truly shameful and dim witted  initial response from the local authorities, a perfect examples of the failings of authoritarian governments and their wish to micro-control narrative at the expense of their citizens.

[neeray]

This is a very sad story. He paid for his acts with his life.

Had his findings been taken very seriously earlier and acted upon, perhaps the toll and spread of the virus would be a fraction of what it is now.

[Tug]

Takes a brave man to buck the system in China a hero in my eyes rip good doctor rip

[rabas]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

only 25 cases in Thailand 

 

That is either a miracle or ….………………… superb management 

 

or 

100% under control...

[BobBKK]

Sad to hear and hope he was not put in danger purposefully for speaking out. RiP

[rabas]

If the CCP is wishy-washy about his death, they are probably terrified of the news spreading. They are already being blamed for the scale of the outbreak, now this. They rule by lie and propaganda but when 1.4 billion decide they have had enough there will be no stopping it.

 

I do not wish such a thing, a slow change to a more open society is much better and China has moved far in that direction. But Pooh Bear has decided to go the hard route and now made himself dictator for life.  

[Beggar]

Not a good sign if a young doctor at age 34 died or according to other reports has severe symptoms. For sure he could have the best possible treatment.

[4MyEgo]

Those cops who arrested the deceased doctor should be put in with those infected and not given any treatment.

 

RIP Dr Li "Hero" Wenliang 

[englishoak]

Coronavirus: Another 41 catch virus on quarantined cruise ship

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51409800

[spiekerjozef]

Sad to hear that if they would have listened we wouldn't have been in this situation.

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

Oddly, there's a different story in The Telegraph, saying he was reported as dying, then the Chinese media deleted their story, saying he was fighting for his life:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-feared-dead-wuhan/

 

From CNN that report is false - he is dead as reported by hospital but government pulled story due to extreme displeasure on social media with officials and this has been found out and even more displeasure.  

https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEGhoJyvWHN-4Ya0Xh1k7eoEqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

[neeray]

1 hour ago, rabas said:

But Pooh Bear has decided to go the hard route and now made himself dictator for life.  

And unfortunately, there are others wanting to emulate Pooh Bear.

[digibum]

Quote

Beijing declares 'people's war'

Somehow I have a hard time accepting a grassroots "people's war" being announced by a government. 

 

[rabas]

26 minutes ago, digibum said:

Somehow I have a hard time accepting a grassroots "people's war" being announced by a government. 

 

More likely it will be against the government. That's probably why the propaganda machine calls for a people's war against the virus. Diversion.

[elliss]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

only 25 cases in Thailand 

 

That is either a miracle or ….………………… superb management 

 

or 

 

          Or lies ...

 

[geriatrickid]

sad. very sad.  met the definition of a hero. braver than me. 

[Matzzon]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Beijing declared a "people's war" on the fast-spreading outbreak

That was a smart comment.

[IAMHERE]

7 hours ago, Beggar said:

Not a good sign if a young doctor at age 34 died or according to other reports has severe symptoms. For sure he could have the best possible treatment.

Yes, makes me think he died of other causes. Maybe reeducation by the authorities was a bit harsh? 

[Brigand]

President Xi has been deafeningly quiet and conspicuous by his public absence in this crisis. I still can't shake that we are being lied to on the numbers and not much truth comes out of such regimes as China is in the grip of and if they have quarantined so many in these big cities, it isn't some casual virus. Secondly, I find it highly suspect that Wuhan is the location for that level 5 bio hazard research facility that houses all sorts of biological weaponry and viruses etc.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

He and seven others were reprimanded by Wuhan police last month for spreading "illegal and false" information about the coronavirus after he warned doctors on social media about seven cases of a mysterious new virus to try to help other physicians.

 

Many ordinary Chinese people on social media described Li as a hero and a tragic figure, reflecting the incompetence of local authorities to tackle the emergence of the virus early in the outbreak.

Sounds familiar... ?

[metisdead]

A post containing unattributed content has been removed. Please include a link to your source of information when posting as a screen shot of a site is not a valid link.

[URMySunshine]

If you go on twitter it is off the scale scary now.

[Isaan sailor]

Ten Cent reported different Wuhan virus numbers for a few hours.  24,000 dead. Many viewers grabbed the screenshot before they changed it back to the government numbers.

[chickenslegs]

Haven't we been told that this virus kills only the very elderly and those suffering from existing cardiopulmonary problems.

 

Dr Li was just 34 years old - what TF.

 

 

[Scott]

25 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Haven't we been told that this virus kills only the very elderly and those suffering from existing cardiopulmonary problems.

 

Dr Li was just 34 years old - what TF.

 

 

I think the general idea is that the elderly and those with preexisting immune conditions are at a higher risk, but I haven't seen where they are the only group dying.  

 

[JHolmesJr]

This epidemic has laid bare all of China's hidden weaknesses.

I cant believe an economic power like them is so broke they cant afford proper 

equipment for their doctors...or hospitals for sick people. Some of the videos 

Ive seen from citizens on Twitter show both the police and people beahving

like weirdos.....citizens who refuse too wear masks when they're ill...kicking

and screaming and being arrested (while possibly spreading germs to those

who wrestle with them), primitive methods of blockading apartments with 

rubble and boarding up the doors, doctors and nurses wearing plastic water

bottles and sanitary pads instead of masks.

 

What a disaster!