Doctor Li Wenliang was a Chinese ophthalmologist. He was the first doctor to identify the new outbreak and warned the world but to his misfortune, he was arrested and accused of spreading rumors.
Dr. Li Wenliang was born on 12 October 1986 in Beizhen Liaoning, China. In 2004 he scored 609 marks in the National College entrance examination and got admission to the Wuhan University of Medicine. After studying for 7 long years, he started working at Xiamen University. His continuous hard work led him successfully achieved his goal in 2014: he became an Ophthalmologist and started working at Wuhan Central Hospital.
Dr. Li Wenliang and first case of Coronavirus
Throughout his 6 years long career, he remained honest with his work. His misfortune started in December 2019. This was the time when he identified and warned the world about the deadly Covid-19 outbreak. On 30th December 2019, Dr. Li Wenliang got information about the first case of SARS-COV.
SARS-COV positive was found on patient’s report
The doctors in the Emergency Department of the Wuhan Central Hospital were examining some patients since the start of December. The patients were suffering from severe flu and pneumonia-like illness. The doctors were unknown about the type of illness. On 30th December Dr. LI Wenliang found SARS positive on one of the patient reports that came from the Emergency Department of the Hospital.
The test was made when the doctors were worried while treating the patients who showed the same SARS-like symptoms. COVID-19 is also known as SARS-COV 2 because the symptoms are the same and both are related to the coronavirus family. The reports clearly showed written positive for SARS Coronavirus.
Dr. Li knew the outbreak was about to begin
Dr. Li alerted everyone while reading the reports. China has witnessed the SARS-COV outbreak in 2003 and was quite aware of the disaster caused by the deadly outbreak that effected 26 countries infecting more than 8000 people worldwide. This was indeed terrifying news for everyone. This was the time when the outbreak was about to start and it could be stopped at that time.
Dr. Li messaged his friends to be cautious
When Dr. Li got to know the outbreak of SARS was about to begin and he texted his friends in a private “We Chat” Group of his medical school. He told his friends to be cautious because 7 confirmed SARS cases have been reported from the Huanan Seafood Market. Later he confirmed that these cases were linked with Coronavirus.
Dr. Li’s messages
These were some messages from Dr.Li Wenliang that are translated to English:
- There are 7 confirmed cases of SARS at Huanan Seafood Market.
- It has been confirmed that they are Coronavirus infections but the exact virus is being subtyped.
- Tell your family and loved ones to take caution.
- They are being isolated in the emergency department of the hospital.
The messages were leaked
These messages shocked the people and they started sharing the screenshots of his chat on social media. The screenshots were also shared on several forums. The Chinese were in doubt whether to believe him or not because there was no confirmation of this news from the authorities.
Dr. Li accused of leaking private information
At this point, the Supervision Department called to talk to him and accused him of leaking private information and spreading threats throughout the country. He was handed to the police. Wuhan Public Security Bureau Police investigated his case. On 3rd January 2020, the police warned and criticized him for his act.
Letter of admonition signed by Dr. Li
He was accused of making false comments on the internet therefore the police asked him to sign a letter of admonition. He signed the letter and swore not to commit the same act again. Also, he was warned that if he fails to learn from his admonition he would be prosecuted.
Coronavirus outbreak starts from China
Police stopped Dr. Li from warning the world about the outbreak. He was disappointed. He felt devastated and followed up with his daily routine. Soon the news was out and China started to face the biggest outbreak of coronavirus which spread rapidly. Dr LI was forced to shut his mouth. He was called a Whistleblower.
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Dr. Li Wenliang story was out
On 31st January, Dr. Li Wenliang published his harrowing story and also went to the police station. He showed his letter of admonition. He too was outraged that no one tried to believe him. On the other side, the Chinese nation was also outraged why Dr Li was silent and never talked about it again and why China did not listen or believed him.
Dr. Li’s death and court announcement
On 7 January Dr. Li contracted the Coronavirus while treating a patient of Glaucoma and sadly passed away through this infection on 7 February 2020. Before his death, he got relieved because the Chineses Supreme People Court announced the people who tried to spread the news about Coronavirus should not be punished because what they said was right. The court further said that it might be a fortunate thing if the people had believed the rumors and started wearing masks and avoid going to the seafood market.
Dr. Li was right – Chinese Social Media
Doctor Li Weliang’s death triggered Chinese social media. People expressed their grief, rage and mistrust against their Government. His death became the top trending topic on social media. People demanded Wuhan’s government to apologize Dr-Li Wenliang and also demanded freedom of speech. Both the hashtags were censored after they gained much attention.
Dr. Li Wenliang exonerated officially
Only after his death, China realized their mistake for not believing Dr Li. He was officially exonerated recently after Chinese authorities and the police department in Wuhan made an investigation to his case. The police also apologized to his family. Some unconfirmed sources also claimed that he made several researches and proposed a case file mentioning the cure of COVID-19.
Dr. Li Wenliang became a real hero
We are not sure about his research news but one thing that comes to our mind is that he was a real hero. He tried to stop the spread of the disease by informing his friends and families to take protective measures. Although no one respected him when he was alive. He deserved to be respected. Today the whole world is suffering and China should be remorseful for not taking him seriously. Dr Li tried to warn his people about the outbreak. He felt upset when his fellows didn’t believe him. If Chinese would have listened to Dr Li before, this could have been avoided to some level.
