Wuhan doctor dies of nCoV before wedding day

Peng Yinhua, a respiratory specialist at Jiangxia District No. 1 People's Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province, passed away at 9:50 p.m. last night after being infected with nCoV while treating a patient.

Dr. Peng was transferred to a local hospital for treatment on January 25, but his condition worsened. On January 30, he was taken to Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan for emergency treatment, where he died.

Jiangxia District Health Committee has sent its deepest condolences to Dr. Peng’s family. The district government has praised him as a shining example on the front line of the epidemic, including an article about him postponing his wedding scheduled for February 1 to focus on fighting the nCoV.

On China's Weibo social network, the news of Dr. Peng's death spread quickly, with more than 190 million views. People expressed their condolences and grief at his passing.

"The bride will never see her fiancé again," one user commented. "He should have had a better future and life. I really don't want to see another doctor die," another user shared.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said 3,003 medical workers in the country were confirmed or suspected of being infected with nCoV as of February 11, of which 14 medical workers had died. One of them was Dr. Liu Zhiming, director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, who died on February 18 at the age of 51 after several days in critical condition.

Wang Ping, deputy director of Wuhan Central Hospital, is also in critical condition after being infected with the virus. Earlier, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, one of the first to warn about the virus, died on February 6 from the virus.

Dr. Li's death sparked public anger and claims that the government owes him an apology. Dr. Li's family was awarded 820,000 yuan (about $117,000) in compensation.

The Covid-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan in December 2019 and has now appeared in 28 countries and territories around the world, infecting 76,202 people and killing 2,247. 11 people have died from the epidemic outside mainland China, including Japan, South Korea, France, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Iran.

The Hubei provincial government said that children of frontline medical workers fighting the Covid-19 epidemic will receive 10 bonus points when taking the high school entrance exam. The Wuhan government also announced that each doctor and nurse infected with the virus will receive 3,000 yuan (US$430), while the families of medical workers who died will receive 5,000 yuan (over US$700).