Tributes pour in for COVID-19 whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang as China relaxes zero-tolerance curbs

Users on Weibo, China’s Twitter clone, wrote in support of the ophthalmologist. “It’s been three years, Dr Li, it’s over,” read a comment. “Three years later, friends around me are testing positive one after another, and the epidemic has entered a new stage,” read another.

Dr Li had become a symbol of dissent against China’s COVID-19 policy. The doctor was publically reprimanded by Wuhan police and authorities in January 2020 for ‘spreading rumours’ about a new SARS outbreak in Wuhan. After a spate of patients with pneumonia-like cases without any apparent cause presented at Wuhan Central Hospital, Dr Li found through internal hospital communication, which was being shared across medical professionals, that SARS coronavirus was the probable cause.

Dr Li shared the information with his private group chat of alumni from his batch at the Wuhan University of Clinical Medicine, asking individuals to be cautious and safe. Once the messages were spread on Chinese social media platforms, Dr Li was summoned by authorities and then reprimanded for being a rumour monger along with seven other doctors.

After returning to work, Dr Li contracted COVID-19 just days after it was officially identified. Li died from the disease within weeks. His death had at the time triggered an outpouring of criticism and anger, especially in light of the draconian lockdown measures taken in China to control the spread of the disease.

“If everyone paid attention to this matter at that time, perhaps there would not be an outbreak like today. I don't think I belong to spreading rumours, I am reminding everyone to take precautions,” Dr Li had told reporters from Beijing News in an interview just a week before his death. Dr Li was just 33 at the time of his death.

While China has managed to keep caseload and death tolls in control, even if severely underreported as many suspect, the Zero-Covid policy has made it harder for the population to start living with COVID-19 as the rest of the world has started to. China’s caseload stands at over 360,000, much less than just the death toll in countries like the US, Russia, Brazil and India. However, with a majority of the population not exposed to the virus, the opening up of the country could cause a massive spurt in cases and deaths.