The name Dr Liu Zhiming might not ring a bell to you now, but mark that name down because he’ll go down in history book as one of the key fighters of the COVID-19 virus—whether alive or dead.
This morning, at about 10:30am, Dr Liu Zhiming, a neurosurgeon who’s also the director of Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, died of the virus, according to statement released by the local government.
He’s the second prominent doctor to have passed on in China; the first is Dr Li Wenliang, who’s one of the whistle-blowers who had warned others via WeChat about the mysterious virus back in December 2019 and was punished by the police then for spreading rumours. The 34-year-old died on 7 February 2020.
Now, how about Dr Liu Zhiming?
Pioneer in the Fight Against COVID-19
Dr Liu, being a director in a hospital located in Wuhan, has been in the frontline since the very beginning.
Being one of the pioneer fighters, his contribution to the battle is well-known in the community.
And so his death was a wake-up call for other people.
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It was reported yesterday by the Hubei Health Commission that Dr Liu had died.
However, in the next update, it turned out that the information was inaccurate; the commission then said, “According to Liu’s relative, the hospital is still trying its best to rescue him.”
Apparently, they had initially got the wrong information from a good friend of Dr Liu.
And of course, with such conflicting reports, people were triggered.
Eventually, he was confirmed to have died from the COVID-19 this morning.
Other than contributing to the fight when he’s alive, his death have also sparked a conversation amongst netizens: they wanted more transparency and better treatment of the frontline staff in Wuhan.
After all, even the Hubei Health Commission didn’t know the status of a director in a Wuhan hospital.
Health workers have told international media that doctors in Wuhan are facing shortages of masks and protective bodysuits, with some having to wear makeshift hazmat suits and continuing to work despite showing respiratory symptoms
At this moment, the number of confirmed cases in Hubei is 59,989 with 1,789 deaths.
Over here in Singapore, we have 81 confirmed cases, and 29 of them have fully recovered.
So, would his death make a difference?
Let us live through the history books your kids are going to read in the future.
