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China’s zero-Covid shift marked by cheers, fears and tributes to late Wuhan hero Li Wenliang
- Easing of lockdown and PCR test rules brings cheer, as Weibo users visit ‘wailing wall’ in memory of Wuhan doctor who first raised Covid alarm
- But vulnerable groups like the elderly and chronic disease sufferers are afraid of being exposed to the full force of the virus as zero-Covid is eased
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Jane Caiin Beijing
As most of China cheered the sweeping relaxation of stringent Covid-19 controls that had hobbled lives and livelihoods, social media users paid tribute to the late doctor in Wuhan who had first raised the alarm about a mystery disease in the city three years ago.
For some, however, the easing of zero-Covid signalled being exposed to the full impact of a pandemic they had thus far been largely shielded from.
Tributes to Dr Li Wenliang of Wuhan poured in below his old posts on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, as users left messages of remembrance on what has been dubbed “China’s wailing wall”.
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The 34-year-old ophthalmologist had warned friends about the emergence of a new “Sars-like” virus in Wuhan in December 2019 – days before authorities confirmed an outbreak – but was called in by city police and reprimanded for “spreading rumours”.
Li died in February 2020 after contracting Covid-19 at the hospital where he worked, triggering an outpouring of public grief and anger online.
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He was later exonerated following a high-level investigation by the central government and declared a “martyr” that April.
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