Chinese “whistleblower doctor” Li Wenliang, who was interviewed by CNN after being sanctioned for warning others about the coronavirus, has died.
Li warned others back in December 2019, after noticing a test result which showed a patient in the hospital he worked at had a coronavirus, and was subsequently “summoned by Wuhan police to sign a reprimand letter in which he was accused of ‘spreading rumors online’ and ‘severely disrupting social order,'” according to CNN.
“Dr. Li was hospitalized on January 12 after [he] contracted the virus from his patient, and he was confirmed to have the coronavirus on February 1,” CNN reported.
The doctor had been interviewed over the phone by CNN before his death, and told the network he was struggling to breathe.
Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, responded to Li’s death in a statement.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang,” Ryan said, adding, “We all need to celebrate work that he did.”