Whistleblower Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the outbreak, was one of eight people reprimanded by Wuhan police last month for spreading “illegal and false” information about the coronavirus.
The Wuhan hospital where Li worked said in a statement on its Weibo account that he died at 2.58 a.m. local time on Friday. The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndrome.
Li, who was 34, had told a group of doctors on Chinese social media and messaging platform WeChat that seven cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had been confirmed linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, believed to be the source of the virus.
He posted a picture of a test result confirming a ”SARS-like” coronavirus in a patient sample, according to a screenshot of the WeChat conversations seen and verified by Reuters.
Li said on China’s microblogging site Weibo on February 1 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
He was asked to sign the letter as a promise to stop such illegal behaviour immediately, and if he refused to comply he would face criminal charges.
Death toll in China is reported to more than 600 deaths and 30,000 cases of the coronavirus. China has vowed repeatedly to be open and transparent in dealing with the coronavirus.