Outcry over social media as Chinese doctor that warned of coronavirus dies.

Dr Li Wenliang, 34, who tried to raise the alarm about the coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak, has died of the infection.

Despite conflicting reports from state media about his condition, his death was confirmed by the Wuhan Central Hospital where he worked and was being treated.

Dr Li was working at the centre of the outbreak in December when he noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like SARS. The cases were thought to come from the Huanan Seafood market in Wuhan and the patients were in quarantine in his hospital.

On 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them about the outbreak and advising they wear protective clothing to avoid infection. What Dr Li didn't know then was that the disease that had been discovered was an entirely new coronavirus.

Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter. In the letter he was accused of "making false comments" that had "severely disturbed the social order". He was one of eight people who police said were being investigated for "spreading rumours".

At the end of January, Dr Li published a copy of the letter on Chinese social media Weibo and explained what had happened. In the meantime, local authorities had apologised to him.

In his Weibo post he describes how on 10 January he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in hospital. His parents also fell ill and were taken to hospital. It was 10 days later - on 20 January - that China declared the outbreak an emergency.

Initially Dr Li was tested several times for coronavirus, but all tests came back negative. On 30 January he posted: "Today nucleic acid testing came back with a positive result, the dust has settled, finally diagnosed."

The post received thousands of comments and words of support. In general, there has been an outcry over Chinese or alternative social media such as Weibo with a mix of anger and concern over how the early warning went unheeded.

"Dr Li Wenliang is a hero," one user said, worrying about what his story says about their country. "In the future, doctors will be more afraid to issue early warnings when they find signs of infectious diseases."

Sources (BBC, REUTERS)