Covid-19: China says six health workers have died and 1,716 infected

Community workers and medical staff visit a woman at her home as they conduct door-to-door search to inspect residents following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Tianjin, China Feb 12, 2020. - Reuters

BEIJING (AFP): Six health workers have died from the new coronavirus in China and more than 1,700 have been infected, health officials said Friday, underscoring the risks doctors and nurses have taken due to shortages of protective gear.

The figure comes a week after public anger erupted over the death of a whistleblowing doctor who had been reprimanded and silenced by police after raising the alarm about the virus in December.