Xie Linka

Xie Linka (born 1981, Chinese: 谢琳卡; pinyin: Xiè Línkǎ) is a Chinese physician who gave early warning about the spread of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. She became known for being a whistleblower, a title given to others in China who had warned the public, such as Liu Wen, and Dr. Li Wenliang, who was infected and later died from the virus.[1]

Education

Xie Linka graduated with a PhD from the Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and is the attending physician at the Cancer Center at Wuhan Union Hospital.[2][3]

Messages by Xie Linka in the WeChat Group of “肿瘤中心” at 20:43 on December 30, 2019

Dear teachers, my coworker from the infectious ward has shared a piece of information from the ward with us:
In the coming days, please avoid Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, several people who went there are currently suffering from a pneumonia of unknown origin (similar to SARS). Today, our hospital has already received several patients with pneumonia who had visited the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

Screenshot from the Caixin report[4]

Whistleblowing incident

On December 30, 2019, Xie Linka posted a message in the WeChat group for her workplace, the Cancer Center at Wuhan Union Hospital.

She stated, "Don't visit Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the near future. Many people there have contracted an inexplicable pneumonia (similar to SARS). Our hospital has admitted numerous pneumonia patients from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market today. Everyone, please make sure to wear masks and keep your room ventilated," and cited her source as "news posted in our alumni group by a junior from my hospital."

Police call

Around January 3, 2020, Xie received a phone call from the Wuhan Police, instructing her not to spread "false information", although she noted they were "very polite" in their tone.[4]

Interview comment

Xie later stated in an interview that her "early warning" to the public was part of a doctor's duty.[5]

See also

References
  1. Salo, Jackie (2020-02-10). "More Chinese doctors claim backlash for sounding coronavirus alarm". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  2. AsiaNews.it. "China cracking down on the free information virus about the epidemic". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  3. "Chinese doctor says he was punished after warning about coronavirus outbreak". fox8.com. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  4. 覃建行; 王颜玉 (2020-02-01). 王逸吟 (ed.). "新冠肺炎又一"吹哨人"现身 曾被警方口头教育". 财新网. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  5. 张晓晖 (2020-02-01). "专访武汉"造谣"者之一谢琳卡医生：我的事情其实很简单，希望更多支援医护人员抗疫物资". 经济观察网. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
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