Li Wenliang, who was working in  Wuhan Central Hospital, contracted the disease while working in the medical facility.

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

Speaking to CNN this week from his hospital bed, Li had earlier said that "I only wanted to remind my university classmates to be careful."

The outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has left over 600 people dead.

The virus infected 31,161 people in mainland China.