Head China doctor dies

Last updated on May 6th, 2021 at 08:10 am

A hospital director at the epicentre of China’s virus epidemic died Tuesday, state media said, the latest medical worker to fall victim to the new coronavirus spreading across the country.

Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died Tuesday morning after “all-out rescue efforts failed,” state broadcaster CCTV reported. China said last week that six medical workers had died from the virus, while 1,716 have been infected. Liu’s death was initially reported by Chinese media and bloggers shortly after midnight on Tuesday — but the stories were later deleted and replaced with reports that doctors were still trying to save him.

Liu’s death has echoes of that of Wuhan ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, who had been punished by authorities for sounding the alarm about the virus in late December. Li’s death prompted a national outpouring of grief as well as anger against the authorities, who were accused of mishandling the crisis.

People took to social media to mourn Liu on Tuesday, with many users on the Twitter-like Weibo platform drawing critical comparisons between Liu’s death and Li’s. In both cases their deaths were initially reported in state media posts — later deleted — and their deaths denied, before being finally confirmed again. Doctors in Wuhan face shortages of masks and protective bodysuits, with some even wearing makeshift hazmat suits and continuing to work despite showing respiratory symptoms, health workers have told AFP. To read more latest news from thailand.