Coronavirus: How one Chinese LGBT+ group is saving lives of HIV patients left on the brink

Inside Wuhan: As hospitals across China scramble to save the lives of Covid-19 patients, people with HIV are relying on the mercy of others to survive, reports William Yang

Coronavirus patients receive treatment at a hospital in Hubei province (AFP via Getty)

When China announced a lockdown of Hubei province – the epicentre of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak – Kenneth had less than one week of his HIV medicine left.

“I was very worried. The pressure of revealing my HIV status to the village and losing access to medication was driving me crazy,” Kenneth* tells The Independent from inside Wuhan.

Kenneth was not alone – soon the phones of the staff at the Wuhan LGBT Centre started to get inundated with calls from desperate HIV-positive patients.