Eugene Nyavor
A Chinese doctor who warned authorities in Wuhan about an emerging new coronavirus is in critical condition, according to media reports.
Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor working in Wuhan, had posted online in late December about a number of cases of pneumonia that appeared to be linked to a local seafood market,
Li was hospitalized on January 12 after contracted the virus from one of his patients, and he was confirmed to have the coronavirus on February 1.
On Thursday an official for the World Health Organization expressed sadness at news of Li’s death.
“We are very sad to hear the loss of Li Wenliang,” Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director for the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies program, said when asked about the doctor’s death during a daily coronavirus press briefing in Geneva.
“We should celebrate his life and mourn his death along with colleagues,” Ryan added.
The death toll and number of people infected by the Wuhan coronavirus continues to grow, with no signs of slowing despite severe quarantine and population control methods put in place in central China.
The number of confirmed cases globally stood at 28,275 as of Thursday, with more than 28,000 of those in China. The number of cases in China grew by 3,694, or 15%, on the previous day.
There have been 565 deaths so far, all but two of which were in China, with one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.
Source: cnn
