The Chinese doctor who attempted to warn the public about the Wuhan coronavirus has died, according to several state media reports, per CNN.
Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was working in Wuhan Central Hospital when he issued a warning to his fellow medics on the 30th December.
This news comes after The Guardian reported today that the death toll for the outbreak has topped 560, with a third case of the virus being confirmed in the UK.
The Chinese medical worker was filmed breaking down as a result of the stress the outbreak has caused:Soon after posting the message - which detailed that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and were quarantined in his hospital - to his medical school alumni group, he was accused of rumor-mongering by local law enforcement. He was one of several doctors to be targeted by police for spreading information about the SARS-like illness in the early weeks of the outbreak.
Local authorities are believed to have later apologized to Dr. Wenliang.
He was hospitalized on January 12th after contracting the virus from one of his patients and was then confirmed to have the coronavirus on February 1.
Today, the World Health Organisation posted a response to the Wenliang's death on Twitter, writing "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on #2019nCoV."
Last month, the world was astounding by the efforts China went to in order to build a hospital in a matter of days:
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus stands at 28,275 as of today, with over 28,000 of those in China.