MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The wife of Chinese “rumor mongering” doctor who first warned about Covid-19, gave birth to a boy

“Are you seeing this in heaven? The last gift you gave me was born today. I will love and take care of him,” Ms Fu Xuejie, wife of the late doctor, wrote on Wechat

The widow of Chinese doctor and coronavirus whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang gave birth to their son on Friday, about four months after his demise, local media reported.

“Are you seeing this in heaven? The last gift you gave me was born today. I will love and take care of him,” Ms Fu Xuejie, wife of the late doctor, wrote on Chinese messaging app WeChat, according to Lizhi News.

Dr Li was working as an ophthalmologist in the virus epicenter city of Wuhan, China when he observed patients with symptoms similar to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The 34-year-old sent out a warning to colleagues on Dec 30, but was later among eight whistleblowers summoned by police for “rumor-mongering”. He contracted the disease while treating a patient and eventually died of the virus in early February.

After Dr Li's death, Ms Fu was wracked with grief and suffered from low blood pressure and bleeding, Lizhi News reported. She had to be temporarily hospitalized to protect her unborn child. When her condition stabilized, she returned to her mother's home in Zaoyang city to give birth.

Ms Fu reportedly described Dr Li as a gentle husband and father. Her family had to initially hide the news of his death from their other son by telling him his father was overseas, she added.

Dr Li's death sparked grief and outrage on Chinese social media, where citizens hailed him as a martyr. “He is a hero who warned others with his life,” one user, an orthopedic surgeon, had written on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

After warning his colleagues, Dr Li was reprimanded by police for spreading “illegal and false” information. Dr Li said he was told to sign a letter accusing him of making “false comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order”.

To date, the number of COVID-19 cases in mainland China stands at 83,064 while the death toll is 4,634.