Coronavirus patient in viral sunset photo discharged from hospital

An 87-year-old novel coronavirus patient in Wuhan, Hubei province – the hardest-hit city by the coronavirus outbreak in China – who grabbed public attention due to a photo of him watching the sunset with his doctor was discharged from hospital after recovery on Thursday.

"I'm fully recovered now. I can do things by myself, for example walking, like I used to," said Wang Xin, the patient, during an interview with People's Daily.

Wang, also a violinist at the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, was admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University on Feb 11 and was taken care of successively by medical teams from Shanghai and Sichuan province who came to aid Hubei.

During his treatment, a photo of him watching the sunset on a hospital bed with a doctor surfaced on the internet and went viral.

Liu Kai, his former doctor from Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai, was taking him for a CT scan on March 5 when Liu asked him if he wanted to stop and watch the sunset. He gave a quick nod of approval, and then both enjoyed the waning light of the day.

As the picture gained likes online, netizens called it "the warmest scene during the epidemic".

Wang had a violin with him in the hospital and would play for a while while alone in the ward. On Tuesday, he played a song called "Farewell" against the setting sun to express his gratitude to medical workers.