Chinese Doctor Who Worked With Late Whistleblower Dead From Coronavirus

A colleague of the Chinese whistleblower doctor who died of the coronavirus in the epicenter city of Wuhan has also succumbed to the illness, according to a report.



Dr. Mei Zhongming, 57, died at Jinyintan Hospital on Tuesday after “all-out rescue efforts failed,” the Daily Mail reported, citing officials at Wuhan Central Hospital, where the ophthalmologist worked.

“He was serious and responsible for his work, acted patiently and carefully with his patients and made important contributions to the construction and development of his discipline,” the hospital said in a statement posted on messaging site Weibo.

“We express sincere condolences to the passing of comrade Mei Zhongming of our hospital and extend deep sympathy to his family,” added the hospital, which did not say when Mei was diagnosed.

Mei worked in the same department with Dr. Li Wenliang, 34, who died of COVID-19 on Feb. 7 after sounding the alarm about the illness.

On Dec. 30, Li sent out a warning over the WeChat messaging app advising fellow med school grads to wear protective clothing to avoid infection after several patients from a local seafood market exhibited symptoms similar to SARS.

He was one of eight whistleblowers who tried to sound an early alarm about the novel virus — which has so far killed more than 3,100 people and infected more than 90,000 — only to be denounced by authorities for “rumormongering.”

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