Another prominent Wuhan doctor dies from COVID-19

As state media boasts that “China has contained more than 99 percent of the confirmed cases within its borders,” the situation in Hubei Province remains severe.

More than 3,000 medical workers, most in Wuhan, have either been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are suspected of having contracted the coronavirus, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed, per the SCMP.

The director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, Liú Zhìmíng 刘智明, died Tuesday morning from COVID-19, according to AFP. “Liu’s death was initially reported by Chinese media and bloggers shortly after midnight on Tuesday — but the stories were later deleted and replaced with reports that doctors were still trying to save him.” This sequence of news is very similar to how the death of Lǐ Wénliàng 李文亮 was reported early this month.

“According to Chutian Daily, a Wuhan newspaper, 10 quarantine centers similar to the makeshift Fangcang hospital will be set up across eight districts in the city, providing an additional 11,400 beds for people showing mild symptoms of infection,” the Guardian reports.

“Huanggang, a city just 50 miles east of Wuhan…has received much less attention than Wuhan in the battle against the coronavirus, but it is one of the most affected cities by far, with the second-highest number of deaths after Wuhan and the third-highest number of confirmed cases in the province,” Caixin reminds us.

There remains an “acute shortage of personal protective equipment” for doctors in Hubei, reporting from the New York Times indicates.

The roads to Hubei are also full of hurdles. In theory, the government has created “green channels” to speed through trucks carrying masks, gowns and equipment. In practice, local officials and police can hold up journeys.

—Lucas Niewenhuis