China virus crisis deepens as whistleblower doctor dies

Yahoo – AFP, Laurent THOMET, Jing Xuan TENG, February 7, 2020

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.

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.

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.

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