Jump to content

Li Wenliang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 36.76.224.32 (talk) at 06:09, 7 February 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the chess player, see Li Wenliang (chess player).

Template:Chinese name

Li Wenliang
Born(1986-10-12)12 October 1986
Beizhen, Liaoning, China
Died7 February 2020(2020-02-07) (aged 33)
Wuhan, Hubei, China
OccupationOphthalmologist
Known forFirst whistleblower to attempt to warn the public of the coronavirus outbreak

Li Wenliang (Chinese: 李文亮; pinyin: Lǐ Wénliàng; 12 October 1986 – 7 February 2020) was a Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital [zh], considered one of the first people to issue a warning about the 2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, on 30 December 2019.[1][2] On 3 January 2020, Wuhan police summoned him and admonished him for "making false comments on the Internet."[1][3] Li returned to work but later contracted the virus from an infected patient. He died from the infection on 7 February 2020.[4][5]

Life and career

Letter of admonition issued by the Wuhan Police Department ordering Li to stop "spreading rumors" about "SARS", signed by Li and two officers. Li uploaded it to his Sina Weibo account.

Li Wenliang was born on 12 October 1986[6] in Beizhen, Liaoning, China.[7] From 2004, he studied clinical medicine at Wuhan University for seven years,[7] where he acquired his Master of Medicine degree. After graduation, he worked in Xiamen, Fujian, for three years before returning to Wuhan to work as an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central hospital.[1]

On 30 December 2019, Li saw a patient's report which showed a positive result with a high confidence level for SARS coronavirus tests. At 17:43, he said in a WeChat group of his medical school classmates, "There were 7 confirmed cases of SARS at Huanan Seafood Market." He also posted the report and a patient's CT scan result. At 18:42, he added, "the latest news is, it has been confirmed that they are coronavirus infections, but the exact virus to be subtyped." He also explained what a coronavirus is with the message.[1]

After screenshots of his WeChat message were posted online, the medical superintendents of his hospital soon came to him for a talk.[1] On 3 January, Zhangnan Street Police Station of the Wuhan Public Security Bureau, Wuchang Branch warned and admonished Li for "making false comments on the Internet".[8] The police officers there asked him to sign on an exhortation letter.[1]

On 8 January, he contracted the coronavirus when he saw an infected patient at the hospital. He developed a fever and cough on 10 January which soon became severe. On 12 January, he was admitted to intensive care where he was quarantined and given treatment.[9] Due to a shortage of test kits for the novel coronavirus, a definitive diagnosis of the infection was not made until 1 February. Many of his colleagues and family members were also infected with the virus.[10]

Reaction

He was under the spotlight of the Chinese public and media for he is considered as one of eight "rumormongers" warned by Wuhan police. However, according to some media, Wuhan police summoned eight "rumormongers" on 1 January, while Li and Xie Linka, a doctor from the Wuhan Union Hospital, were warned on 3 January, which means that the two persons might not be one of the eight "rumormongers."[11]

China's Supreme People's Court said that in retrospect, the eight Wuhan citizens should not have been punished as what they said is not entirely false.[12]

"It might have been a fortunate thing if the public had believed the 'rumors' then and started to wear masks and carry out sanitization measures, and avoid the wild animal market," the top court's social media account said on 4 February.[12]

Li told Caixin that he had been worried the hospital would punish him for "spreading rumors" but felt relieved after the top court publicly criticized the police. "I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society, and I don't approve of using public power for excessive interference," said Li.[12]

Death

On 6 February, Chinese state media reported that Li had died at the age of 34.[13] According to China Newsweek (中國新聞周刊), his heartbeat stopped at 21:30, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was used to keep him alive.[14] According to several sources, including Li's colleagues, an ECMO was used to maintain his life 3 hours after his heartbeat stopped.[15]

The World Health Organization posted on Twitter saying that it is "saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang," after Li's death.[16]

However, Wuhan Central Hospital initially released a statement contradicting the reports of his death: "In the process of fighting the coronavirus, the eye doctor from our hospital Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected. He is now in critical condition and we are doing our best to rescue him."[17] The hospital later confirmed that Li had died, and gave his time of death as 02:58 on 7 February 2020.[4][18]

Family

Li and his wife had one child. His wife was pregnant with their second child when he died.[19]

See also

  • Carlo Urbani, doctor who was the first to warn about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and died of the disease in 2003

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Tan, Jianxing (31 January 2020). "新冠肺炎"吹哨人"李文亮：真相最重要". Caixin. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "武汉肺炎：一个敢于公开疫情的"吹哨人"李文亮". BBC Chinese. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Coronavirus 'kills Chinese whistleblower doctor'". BBC News. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b Zhou, Cissy (7 February 2020). "Coronavirus: Whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang confirmed dead of the disease at 34, after hours of chaotic messaging from hospital". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  5. ^ "武汉中心医院：李文亮经抢救无效去世" (in Chinese). Sina Corp. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  6. ^ "武汉市公安局吴昌分局中南路街派出所训诫书" (in Chinese). Zhongnanlu Street Police Station, Wuchang Division of Wuhan Police Bureau. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  7. ^ a b "武汉大学：李文亮校友，一路走好". The Paper. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ 林則宏. "武漢肺炎「吹哨者」：三周前就知道可「人傳人」了". 元气网. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. ^ "被训诫医生李文亮去世". The Beijing News. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. ^ Deng, Chao; Chin, Josh (6 February 2020). "Chinese Doctor Who Issued Early Warning on Virus Dies". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. ^ "讲疫情真话被训诫的武汉医生李文亮：想尽快回到抗疫一线". The Paper. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Rebuked coronavirus whistleblower vindicated by top Chinese court". Spotlight. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  13. ^ 何雾. "李文亮于6 February 2020 晚在重症监护室去世". 界面新闻 (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. ^ 張子傑 (6 February 2020). "【武漢肺炎】敢言醫生李文亮傳死訊 院方稱仍搶救中". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Virus 'whistleblower' doctor in Wuhan dies from coronavirus". Global Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  16. ^ World Health Organization [@WHO] (6 February 2020). "At today's #2019nCoV media briefing @DrMikeRyan is asked about reports that Dr Li Wenliang had passed away, and he expressed condolences. WHO has no information on the status of Dr Li" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Austin, Henry (6 February 2020). "Chinese doctor who raised alarm over coronavirus dies from disease, hospital confirms". NBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Chinese doctor who sounded Wuhan virus alarm is critically ill, hospital says, after state media reported he had died". CNN. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  19. ^ Buckley, Chris (6 February 2020). "Chinese Doctor, Silenced After Warning of Outbreak, Dies From Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 February 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Li_Wenliang&oldid=939559538"