Coronavirus kills Chinese whistleblower doctor

A Chinese doctor who tried to issue the first warnings about the deadly coronavirus outbreak has died, the hospital treating him has said.

Li Wenliang contracted the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital.

He had sent out a warning to fellow medics on 30 December but police told him to stop "making false comments".

There had been contradictory reports about his death, but the People's Daily now says he died at 02:58 on Friday (18:58 GMT Thursday).

The virus has killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China, the National Health Commission's latest figures show. However, Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak, has announced an additional 69 deaths for Thursday which are not yet in the national figures, taking the overall national total past 620.

The virus 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 - just as they would from a flu.