Daily US Times: A Chinese doctor first identified several patients affected by a virus, similar to SARS virus. He warned his fellow doctors but police acted fast to silenced him.
One month later, Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital has been hailed as a hero after he posted his story from a hospital bed.
Doctor Li revealed a stunning insight on how the local authorities in Wuhan acted in the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Chinese doctor first noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars in December. The cases were believed to come from the Huanan Seafood market in Wuhan and the patients were in quarantine in his hospital.

On December 30, Li sent a message to his fellow medical school alumni WeChat group warning them about the outbreak and advising they wear protective clothing to avoid infection.
Dr. Li didn’t know then the disease that had been discovered was an entirely new coronavirus.
Four days later, police paid a visit to him and warned him to stop. The police told him to sign a letter where he was accused of “making false comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order”.
The letter said: “We solemnly warn you: If you keep being stubborn, with such impertinence, and continue this illegal activity, you will be brought to justice – is that understood?”
Dr. Li’s had to write underneath: “Yes, I do.”

Li was not the only one police tried to stop. Police investigated for “spreading rumors” to seven others.
By the end of January, Dr. Li published the letter on Weibo and explained what happened to him. Meanwhile, local authorities apologized to him but that apology came too late.
For the first few weeks of January, Wuhan officials were insisting that only those who came in contact with infected animals could catch the virus but there was no guidance was issued to protect doctors.
A week after police visited Li, he was treating a woman with glaucoma, not knowing that she had been infected with the new coronavirus.
On January 10, he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in hospital. His parents also fell ill and had to admit in hospital.
10 days later, on January 20, China declared the outbreak an emergency.
China has been suffering severe outbreak since last month as more than 20,000 cases and 425 deaths had been reported in China – an increase of more than 3,000 confirmed cases in a single day.
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