Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm on the Wuhan coronavirus has died

The Chinese doctor who tried to warn others about the Wuhan coronavirus has died, according to several state media reports.

Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor working in Wuhan, raised the alarm about thenovel coronavirus on December 30, posting in his medical school alumni group on the Chinese messaging app WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and were quarantined in his hospital.

Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumor-mongering by the Wuhan police.

He was one of several medics targeted by police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak, which has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed more than 560.

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.