Tens of millions of people have read Mr Li's story, with more than 9,000 users responding to the original report by China News Weekly. None are available to view because they have been censored and comments have also been removed from Mr Li's Weibo post. 

So users have taken to commenting elsewhere on the social network, with some criticising what they perceive as China's "one-size-fits-all" strategy to combat the virus. 

"I am not opposed to epidemic prevention, but we must take care of key groups," one says. 

Many believe this is far from an isolated case. 

"How many deaths have there been due to delayed healthcare?" one asks. "Are vulnerable groups being protected?" 

"I'm heartbroken and angry," says someone else. "But there are so many stories like this." 

"It's not the virus that kills people, but excessive epidemic prevention measures," another adds. 

Violent protests put China's zero Covid under strainThe politics driving China's hellish lockdownsZero Covid holds danger for China's XiChina's elderly suffer in Covid quarantine centres

China's official death toll for Covid is 5,226, a figure which hasn't changed since May. 

But there have been repeated stories of delayed emergency treatment for seriously ill people in locked down areas or quarantine facilities.

Earlier this month there were angry demonstrations in the western city of Lanzhou after a father said delays in getting his toddler son to hospital had contributed to his death from carbon monoxide poisoning. 

In October, there were reports of a a 14-year-old girl dying in Henan Province after falling ill in a Covid quarantine centre. 

Last week officials in the northwest region of Xinjiang began investigating whether a man died due to neglect at a quarantine facility - he'd called for an ambulance and none was sent, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

Earlier this week, there were reports - also now being investigated - that a woman miscarried in the southwestern city of Chongqing "after coronavirus restrictions resulted in treatment delays". 

Since the start of the pandemic, China has stressed the importance of maintaining a "dynamic zero-Covid strategy", which essentially means isolating people - even if they are asymptomatic - once they test positive for the virus