HONG KONG — As China moves away from its strict “zero-Covid” controls, there has been a resurgence of online tributes to Li Wenliang, a whistleblower doctor who became a symbol of public dissatisfaction with the ruling Communist Party’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Li, who worked at a hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan, was among eight doctors reprimanded by local police in early 2020 for “spreading rumors” after they warned colleagues about a new SARS-like disease that had recently emerged in the city. Weeks later, as the coronavirus shut down cities in China and began spreading around the world, Li died from the disease after contracting it at work. He was 33.

Li’s death set off an online outpouring of grief and anger that is rarely seen in China, where there is little tolerance for dissent. Though Li was later officially exonerated and even held up as a national hero, criticism of the government in connection with his silencing and death has continued to be censored.

This week, Chinese officials announced they were abandoning key pillars of President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy, including broad lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in centralized government facilities. Many social media users rushed to tell Li, flooding his profile on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, with expressions of gratitude, celebration and grief.

“It’s been three years, Dr. Li, it’s over,” read a typical comment.

Wuhan residents remember ‘whistleblower’ doctor one year after...

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