A doctor treating patients of the coronavirus has died nine days after contracting it himself. Liang Wudong, 62, passed away on Saturday morning, hours before another medic, Jiang Jijun, 51, suffered a fatal heart attack. However, it was not clear whether Mr Jijan had also been infected. As part of their efforts to combat the growing epidemic the Chinese government drafted in 1,200 extra medical staff to Wuhan, the virus’ epicentre where Mr Wudong was stationed. Officials are also racing to build a 1,000-bed hospital for victims of the outbreak, which has cast a shadow over the country’s biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year. Transport was shut down in Wuhan as well as at least 12 other cities in central China’s Hubei province as the death toll rose to 41 and the number of people infected reached almost 1,300. Dr Liang is the first known fatality among staff treating patients Dr Liang worked at the Hubei Xinhua hospital in Wuhan and is the first known fatality among staff treating patients, The Guardian reports. He was retired, but had been drafted in to help deal with the outbreak. His death comes amid a flood of social media posts showing exhausted medics struggling to deal with the influx of patients. One photo showed a sign at the entrance to a hospital saying: ‘Medical staff infected. All appointments cancelled.’ Some 56 million people are now subject to restrictions on their movement as authorities expand travel bans in central Hubei province, now affecting 18 cities. According to Beijing News, 15 medical staff in Wuhan had been infected. The country’s annual Lunar New Year celebrations have been dampened in the aftermath of the outbreak. After public gatherings were banned and public transport effectively closed many have opted to stay home. Source
