The death from coronavirus of a doctor in China who authorities reprimanded for releasing information about the disease sparked a massive outcry of grief on Friday -- and a never-before seen expressions of indignation against the Chinese government on social media.
His demise triggered a wave of anger among Chinese netizens, a large number of whom were already very disappointed with the way the authorities are dealing with an epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives and sickened thousands in China and elsewhere.
Thirty-four year-old Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at a medical facility in Wuhan -- the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak -- became one of the country's most vocal personalities in the calamity after he divulged that he was among eight individuals rebuked by Wuhan authorities in January for "spreading rumors" about the outbreak.
According to the Wuhan Central Hospital, Li was later inflicted with the disease himself after treating patients with the coronavirus. He died at 2:58 a.m. local time.
News of the doctor's death created a commotion of sorts among Chinese microblogging site Weibo's more than 1.5 billion viewers, and also became a trending subject in messaging groups like WeChat, where people vented their pain and ire.
The number of fatalities so far have reached 638 globally, with 618 of them in Hubei, a province of more than 11 million people.
Many people reacted to Li's death on Friday, by creating make-shift memorials outside of the Wuhan Central Hospital where the doctor was assigned. He succumbed to respiratory problems caused by the coronavirus.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's anti-corruption agency, disclosed that it would deploy a team to Wuhan to probe into issues connected to Li's death.
Li was arrested on January for revealing the unknown virus on his social media account. It is said that the doctor did not have any access to anti-viral medications during that time and his physical condition deteriorated.
Li's case is a sensitive one for the Chinese government after authorities were accused of withholding the facts about the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2003. Medical experts from around the world has called for transparency in the ongoing outbreak, and Chinese officials have been lambasted over what critics describe as their poor management of the crisis.
Realistically, many are saying that it will take many weeks or so before scientists and medical experts come up with a clear picture of whether the coronavirus is peaking.
And there is still a huge discrepancy between the numbers reported by China and what crisis managers actually are witnessing. Many believe that the laboratory-validated cases are just the tip of the iceberg.
