Dr Li Wenliang.
Dr Li Wenliang.

The Chinese media on Thursday created confusion over the status of the doctor, who blew the whistle on the coronavirus outbreak.

The state-run โ€˜Global Timesโ€™ said Dr Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist, had died in Wuhan but later it reported that he was โ€œcritically illโ€, say media reports.

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Earlier, the โ€˜Peopleโ€™s Dailyโ€™ sent out a tweet stating that Dr Liโ€™s death had sparked โ€œnational griefโ€.

On December 30 last, Dr Li Wenliang had warned fellow medics about the virus but was told by police to stop making โ€œfalse commentsโ€.

It was Dr Li who posted his story on the Weibo site from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning.

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Also read: Coronavirus toll in China touches 563

The deadly coronavirus has so far claimed over 560 people and infected 28,000 in China.

Chinaโ€™s health authorities claimed most of the coronavirus victims are over the age of 60 or have suffered from other medical conditions, according to Chinaโ€™s health authorities.

โ€˜Global Timesโ€™ carried a report from Wuhan Central Hospital saying that Dr Liโ€™s heart stopped beating at 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT) and he was given resuscitation treatment.

โ€œDr Li was currently in a critical condition,โ€ it said.

The news of Dr Liโ€™s death triggered a huge wave of popular reaction on Weibo โ€“ Chinaโ€™s equivalent of Twitter.

Coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

Most people infected are likely to fully recover โ€“ just as they would from a flu.

It was Dr Li who had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars, the virus which caused global epidemic in 2003.

On 30 December, 34-year-old Dr Li had sent a message to his fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.

But after four days, he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter.

In the letter he was accused of โ€œmaking false commentsโ€ that had โ€œseverely disturbed the social orderโ€.

Dr Li on the weekend revealed that he had also contracted the virus himself after testing negative a number of times.

In a video that was widely watched, Dr Li said: โ€œToday nucleic acid testing came back with a positive result, the dust has settled, finally diagnosed.โ€

The Chinese doctor has his wife and five-year-old daughter. There are reports that his wife is also sick.