Li Wenliang

Li Wenliang (1985 to 2020) was a Chinese ophthalmologist who worked at Wuhan Central Hospital and became widely known as one of the first doctors to warn colleagues about the cluster of pneumonia cases that proved to be COVID-19. Born in Beizhen in Liaoning, he studied clinical medicine at Wuhan University, worked for three years at the Xiamen Eye Center and joined Wuhan Central Hospital as an ophthalmologist in 2014. On 30 December 2019 he shared an internal report of suspected SARS cases with fellow alumni in a private chat group, asking them to take precautions. Police summoned him on 3 January 2020 and made him sign a letter of admonition. He caught the virus from a patient, and died on 7 February 2020 at the age of 34. A later official inquiry exonerated him and the police withdrew the admonishment. The record here concerns what was said and done, never medical advice.