Ai Fen

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ai.
Ai Fen
NationalityChinese
EducationTongji Medical College
OccupationPhysician
Known forOne of the first medical personnel to report SARS-CoV-2 cases and disclose them through group messaging / social media
Medical career
InstitutionsCentral Hospital of Wuhan

Ai Fen (Chinese: 艾芬; pinyin: Ài Fēn) is a Chinese doctor and director of the emergency department of Central Hospital of Wuhan. In December 2019, she was one of the first doctors to encounter pneumonia patients infected with the then-unknown virus, SARS-CoV-2.[1] On 30 December 2019, Ai Fen received a diagnostic report of suspected "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases". An image of the diagnostic report was shared on WeChat by an ophthalmologist at the hospital, Li Wenliang. The image was then circulated on the internet, leading Ai Fen to be questioned by hospital superiors.[1] She was given the nickname "The Whistle-Giver" (发哨子的人) in an article in the Chinese Renwu (or People) magazine which was censored by the Chinese government but was reposted on the Chinese internet using emojis, Morse code and pinyin to circumvent censorship.[2]

  1. ^ a b McCarthy, Simone; Lew, Linda; Zheng, William; Xie, Echo; Zhang, Phoebe (27 February 2020). "How Disease X, the epidemic-in-waiting, erupted in China". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 20200311theguardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).