CDC warns against the disease of anti-Asian attacks

I was walking down Broadway on a warm winter day in Oakland. Approaching was a woman and man with those surgical masks on. I thought it was strange that they were wearing ihe masks around the neck instead of covering the nose and mouth.

As we passed each other, they deliberately coughed.

A microagression? or was it a genuine case of itchy throat? I couldn't help but think of the timing -- just as they were passing me. Paranoia is growing because of the coronavirus.

Attacks -- minor, like mine to physical altercations are rising as the coronovirus or COVID-19, becomes more prevalent. Xenophobia against Asians is spreading even faster. It is as if the virus has given people permission to openly display their anti-Asian racism.

Business is drastically down at Chinese restaurants. Tourists are noticeably absent from Chinatown streets. From hard resentful glares from fellow commuters to a resurgence (it never went away) of the "Go-back-to-China," expletives, the fear of the virus and anti-Asian bias is on the rise.

My experience was minor compared to some of the stories around the country. It has gotten so bad that the US Centers for Disease Control, the same federal agency fighting the spread of the virus, felt compelled to issue a notice about anti-Asian acts and statements.

"At this time most people in the United States have little immediate risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. However, some people are worried about the disease," reads the notice. "Fear and anxiety can lead to social stigma towards Chinese or other Asian Americans. Stigma and discrimination can occur when people associate an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, with a population or nationality, even though not everyone in that population or from that region is specifically at risk for the disease (for example, Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans living in the United States).

"Stigma hurts everyone by creating more fear or anger towards ordinary people instead of the disease that is causing the problem. We can fight stigma and help not hurt others by providing social support. We can communicate the facts that being Chinese or Asian American does not increase the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19."

Stigmatized groups may be subjected to:

• Social avoidance or rejection
• Denials of healthcare, education, housing or employment
• Physical violence.

"Stigma affects the emotional or mental health of stigmatized groups and the communities they live in. Stopping stigma is important to making communities and community members resilient," says the CDC.

The Asian American Journalists Association put out guidelines to editors and reporters to refrain from referring to the virus as the Chinese disease, or showing Asian people wearing facemasks.

"This is a global emergency that should be met with both urgency and also cultural awareness that COVID-19 is not isolated to a single ethnic population. Xenophobic attacks and discrimination towards Asian American communities are unacceptable and will not make our families safer or healthier,” said Jeffrey Caballero, executive director of Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO).The CDC has also issued additional guidelines to officials and communicators to:

• Maintain privacy and confidentiality of those seeking healthcare and those who may be part of any contact investigation.
• Quickly communicate the risk or lack of risk from associations with products, people, and places.
• Raise awareness about COVID-19 without increasing fear.
• Share accurate information about how the virus spreads.
• Speak out against negative behaviors, including negative statements on social media about groups of people, or exclusion of people who pose no risk from regular activities.
• Be cautious about the images that are shared. Make sure they do not reinforce stereotypes.
• Engage with stigmatized groups in person and through media channels including news media and social media.
• Thank healthcare workers and responders. People who have traveled to areas where the COVID-19 outbreak is happening to help have performed a valuable service to everyone by helping make sure this disease does not spread further.
• Share the need for social support for people who have returned from China or are worried about friends or relatives in the affected region. 

“Many Asian Americans are just as concerned as everyone else about the coronavirus--even more so considering how in some cases, our extended families could be impacted," said Gregg Orton, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA). "But to let someone’s health status be a measure of how American they are is absurd. Mass hysteria will not help, and neither will bigotry.”