Retired Doctor Treating Coronavirus Patients Dies 9 Days After Contracting Disease

A doctor at a hospital in China’s Hubei province, the center of the new coronavirus outbreak, has died from the virus this morning, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported in a tweet.

Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Provincial Hospital who had been at the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan City, died from the virus aged 62, it said.

The former ENT medic, who retired from the profession last June, was suspected of contracting the disease on January 16 at Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine and was transferred to the Jinyintan Hospital two days later. 

The virus, similar to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that spread in 2002 and 2003, has killed 41 and infected 1,300 in China as of Saturday.

The deadly new virus has reached parts of Asia, the United States, France, and most recently, Australia, CNN International has reported. 

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Wuhan, the most populous city in central China with 11 million people, was placed under lockdown Thursday, while public transport has been suspended in 10 neighboring cities, CNN added.

Meanwhile, the Philippines remains free from the new coronavirus, but authorities are on heightened alert to prevent the entry of the disease, increasing health screenings in airports, and indefinitely suspending flights to and from Wuhan.

Source: CGTN