Implications of Coronavirus Spread

Implications of coronavirus spread to Granite Bay

Recent health crisis stemming from China leads to xenophobia against students of Asian decent

BY RIA DHAMEJANI rdhamejani.gazette@gmail.com A new virus has caused a global outbreak from China, the infection otherwise known as “coronavirus.” Officials don’t know much about the virus, other than that it has been traced back to the city of Wuhan, China. According to CNN, it’s predicted that coronavirus originated from Wuhan’s practice of selling non-domesticated animals for consumption as a Chinese delicacy. The virus most likely started in animals and has now spread to humans, meaning that there is no vaccine ready for usage yet. Alongside the global scare this epidemic has caused, there has also been a recent uproar in xenophobia toward individuals of Asian descent. The Granite Bay community has been affected by the global spread of the virus, but in other ways than most may think – racism. Students coming from many different Asian descents have experienced racism of all sorts on and off campus. “The flu is more harmful toward us than the coronavirus,” said sophomore Jonathan Lee. “The biggest thing it has brought is stupidity around the whole entire world because it has brought a lot of racism, and people just want to make a big deal out of it.” Lee, who is of Asian descent, has experienced racism from the coronavirus on social media and on campus. “It hurt me in the beginning, but then I realized … I’m better off just not thinking about it,” Lee said. “It kinda makes me feel better that I’m not the only one dealing with it. (My) whole race is dealing with it also, so I take it as a collective thing instead of me being singled out.” Lee, as well as many other students of Asian descent has been racially profiled as “Chinese” even though he doesn’t come from that specific background. He compares this profiling to common ignorance in everyday society. “It’s not even just the coronavirus, it's other stuff (too), like when a terrorist attack happens, people poke fun at Muslims and it’s just really disrespectful,” Lee said. Individuals are often unaware of the difference between what might be considered a joke and what isn’t, which is concerning to many people. “There’s different types of sensitivity toward the topic and race,” sophomore Jaiel Dava said. “Some people aren’t used to jokes like that and they’re definitely going to feel threatened or bullied by those remarks.” Dava’s ancestry is Chinese, and yet he does not seem as affected by many remarks as other people might be. If people are complaining about it, then others should just stop,” Dava said. “You don’t want to keep contributing to this unnecessary racism.”

STATES WITH CONFIRMED CASES OF CORONAVIRUS AS OF March 2, 2020

Gazette infographic /ASHLEY YUNG Source/ CDC, March 2, 2020

Although there have been a confirmed 43 cases since Jan. 21, the disease is rapidly spreading. According to freep.com, there are 325 people being screened in Michigan. According to kgw.com, there are 800 people under public health supervision due to corona.