A Chinese doctor was one of the first who made public a concern about a flu-like illness from seven patients from a seafood market through a messaging app but was accused of rumor-mongering, CNN reported.
Thirty-four-year-old Li Wenliang, a doctor based in Wuhan – the known epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus – is now himself battling the disease.
Li shared his discovery to his friends so they can warn their loved ones privately.
However, he found that screenshots of his messages that bore his name has gone viral.
“When I saw them circulating online, I realized that it was out of my control and I would probably be punished,” Li said.
On the same day he sent out the messages, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission informed medical institutions that patients from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market had contracted “unknown pneumonia.”
Li was also summoned by officials at his hospital to explain how he knew about the cases.
It was learned that later on, Wuhan officials announced an outbreak had occurred in the city and consequently informed the World Health Organization of the situation.
The doctor was also summoned by police officials and was reprimanded for “spreading rumors online” and “severely disrupting social order” over the message he sent to his friends.
The interview with CNN was done through texting via WeChat, because with his coughing and poor breathing, he had difficulty talking over the phone.
It was on February 1 that the ophthalmologist from Wuhan City was diagnosed to have contracted the same novel coronavirus.
There was public uproar when his story became public.
With this outrage, the Supreme Court of China, on January 28, criticized the Wuhan police for punishing the “rumormongers.”
Li also raised the issue of the government’s alleged non-disclosure that the virus is transmitted human-to-human and that healthcare workers have been infected.
Later on, a government-appointed respiratory expert, Zhong Nanshan, declared on state TV that the virus was transmissible from person to person followed by the implementation of lockdown in Wuhan.
