On 30 December 2019, Li saw a patient's report which showed a positive result with a high confidence level for SARS coronavirus tests.
At 17:43, he wrote in a private WeChat group of his medical school classmates: "7 confirmed cases of SARS were reported from Huanan Seafood Market." He also posted the patient's examination report and CT scan image. At 18:42, he added, "the latest news is, it has been confirmed that they are coronavirus infections, but the exact virus strain is being subtyped".
Li asked the WeChat group members to inform their families and friends to take protective measures. He was upset when the discussion gained a wider audience than he expected.
After screenshots of his WeChat messages were shared on Chinese forums and gained huge attention, the supervision department summoned him to talk, where he was blamed for leaking the information. On 3 January 2020, police from the Wuhan Public Security Bureau investigated the case and interrogated Li, giving him a warning notice and censuring him for "making false comments on the Internet".
He was made to sign a letter of admonition promising not to do it again. The police warned him that if he failed to learn from the admonition and continued to violate the law he would be prosecuted.
After the admonition, Li returned to work in the hospital and contracted the virus on 8 January. On 31 January, he published his experience in the police station with the letter of admonition on social media. His post went viral and users questioned why the doctors who gave earlier warnings were silenced by the authorities.
On 7 January, Li contracted the coronavirus when he saw an infected patient at his hospital.
Li's condition became critical on 5 February. On 6 February, while Li was on the phone with a friend, he told the friend that he was having trouble breathing and that his oxygen saturation had dropped to 85%
The hospital announced that Li had died at 2:58 a.m. on 7 February 2020
Li was a brave man who did his best to inform the people about the virus but the Chinese government censured him and didn't let his information get out
Coronavirus whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang, What China did with him? Current Affairs 2020
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