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Megan Barker

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was first documented in Wuhan, China in December 2019.  People of Asian descent have experienced social stigma and blame during this pandemic. Asian businesses and overseas shipments are regarded with unwarranted suspicion. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that “fear and anxiety surrounding the spread of this virus has led to the development of this social stigma” against people of Asian descent. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “the first cases of COVID-19 in the US had traveled internationally” or had “been in close contact” with someone who had been in China recently. International travel that could have spread COVID-19 is not exclusive to any ethnicity. 

Additionally, the CDC states that the virus has not yet been shown to survive on packages from China, as these take days or weeks to travel to the US. Therefore shipments from China or any other country should not be seen as a risk for contagion at this time.

As more information about COVID-19 emerges, avoiding hurtful or discriminatory language is important for keeping our community safe. Placing blame on people of Asian descent does little to slow the spread of disease. By following local orders and precautionary measures such as social distancing, COVID-19 can be better contained.The virus has become a pandemic, and in order to recover not only as a nation but on a global scale cooperation is required across borders and nationalities. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/reducing-stigma.html

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/cerccorner/article_123016.asp