Chinese media have changed a report that a doctor who blew the whistle on the coronavirus outbreak has died of the infection.
The state-run Global Times said Li Wenliang had died in Wuhan but later reported he was instead critically ill.
According to BBC, the People’s Daily had earlier sent out a tweet saying Dr Li’s death had sparked “national grief”.
Dr Li warned fellow medics about the virus on 30 December but was told by police to stop making “false comments”.
The coronavirus has now killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China.
It causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover – just as they would from a flu.
Global Times and other Chinese media initially sent out reports that Dr Li, 34, had died from coronavirus.
It was then picked up by international news organisations. The World Health Organization sent out a tweet expressing sorrow at his death.
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But Global Times then carried a report from Wuhan Central Hospital saying that Dr Li’s heart had stopped beating at 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT) and he was given resuscitation treatment. Dr Li was currently in a critical condition, it said.
The news of his death had triggered a huge wave of popular reaction on Weibo – China’s equivalent of Twitter.
Most of the coronavirus victims have been over the age of 60 or have suffered from other medical conditions, according to China’s health authorities. Dr Li’s medical history is not known.
Dr Li, an ophthalmologist, posted his story on the Weibo site from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning.
Dr Li had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars – the virus that led to a global epidemic in 2003.
On 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.
Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter. In the letter, he was accused of “making false comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order”.
He was one of eight people who police said were being investigated for “spreading rumours”
Local authorities later apologised to Dr Li.
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