A doctor who was punished for blowing the whistle on the coronavirus died from the virus on Friday.
In a report published by the Deccan Times, the death triggered an outpouring of grief and anger at the authorities in China.
The coronavirus outbreak has now killed more than 630 people and infected at least 31,000 people worldwide.
Li Wenliang, 34, died early Friday, the Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on China’s Weibo platform.
The announcement brought forth grief on social media over a doctor is seen as a national hero and anger over the government’s handling of the crisis.
“He is a hero who warned others with his life,” a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on Weibo.
“Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm,” wrote another angry Weibo user in a comment that has since been censored.
Li sent out a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on December 30 in Wuhan — the central city at the epicentre of the crisis — but was later among eight whistleblowers summoned by police for ‘rumour-mongering’.
He later contracted the disease while treating a patient.
Censors appeared to struggle with how to deal with his death.
State-run newspaper Global Times and state broadcaster CCTV first reported on Weibo that Li had died late Thursday, only to delete their posts after the death rapidly surged to be among the top topics on the popular platform.
The World Health Organization reacted to the first reports of his death to express sadness.
Analysts have said that local authorities played down the extent of the outbreak in early January because they were holding political meetings at the time and wanted to project an aura of stability.
The first fatality was reported on January 11. The death toll has since soared to 636, with 73 more reported on Friday and an additional 3,000 new infections.
