Amid an outpouring of grief, Chinese authorities on Friday said they would send investigators to Hubei province's Wuhan city to probe "issues raised by the public over the death of Dr Li Wenliang.
The 34-year-old Li, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan's Central Hospital, was infected with the novel coronavirus while battling against the disease during the outbreak.
He succumbed to the virus in the early hours of Friday. He was known for exposing the virus with a WeChat group post on Jan 30 that there were seven SARS-related cases at the Huanan market.