It has been 26 years since the end of apartheid, a system of racial segregation enforced in South Africa for 40 years. Yet the country remains the world’s most unequal, with the majority of the country’s land and wealth owned by its minority white population.

Lockdown has brought this lingering inequality to the forefront as South Africans of different economic levels complain about different aspects of their lockdown experiences. 

South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world. On the left, shacks in the informal settlement of Khayelitsha. On the right, houses overlooking Llandudno beach. Both are in Cape Town. Photo by Tommy Trenchard

Affluent and predominantly white South Africans, confined to comfortable and spacious houses, have complained of restrictions on outdoor exercise such as jogging and surfing. 

For the first five weeks of lockdown, no outdoor exercise or walking of dogs was allowed. Now, walking or jogging is allowed from 6 a.m. to 9.a.m. , but beaches and the ocean remain off limit. Some say that this three hour limitation is arbitrary, and serves only to create crowding on public running paths and oceanfront promenades.

“I thought that yoga was an okay exercise,” said tearful Samantha Vietri after being reprimanded by police for doing yoga on Muizenburg Beach.

“They didn’t even want to give me time to put my shoes on, she said. “It was just a horrible experience and not a way that people should be treated”.

Surfers protest at Blouberg Beach, Cape Town against the South African government’s banning of surfing during the COVID-19 lockdown. Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht.

“To us, surfing is more than just being in the water, it’s a culture,” said Surfer Anton Fourie “ And not being able to surf is torture.”

But for millions of impoverished black South Africans, yoga and surfing are the least of their worries. For those confined to small shacks in overcrowded townships or rural villages with poor lighting, no electricity and communal toilets, hunger has been the most difficult part of this lockdown. Initial studies have estimated that 34 percent of South Africans have gone to bed hungry since the lockdown began.

Many of these people live day to day, surviving on day wages received for casual labor. Since lockdown began in March, these people have been without income. Without income, hunger has set in, and there have been incidents of looting and theft from local grocery stores and food delivery trucks.

“I’m not earning anything now,” said Thandi Lebho, who lives in Diepsloot township with her husband and three children. 

“I’m starving now. I don’t have anything, she said.”

In some areas, hungry people wait for food handouts in lines that are over two miles long. The South African government is providing food parcels to some South Africans, but government officials have been accused of bribery and nepotism in the provision of these parcels. Some immigrants have also complained that they have been denied food parcels because they are not South African citizens. As a result, millions of South Africans are not receiving any food assistance.

“If the government cannot give us food parcels as promised, it should scrap the lockdown and let us go back to work and hustle for our families to eat,” said Nonkikelelo Mceki, a domestic worker living in Tsakane who has been out of work since the lockdown began.

Some South Africans have started handing out food parcels to the hungry. But without a special permit, this is considered a violation of lockdown restrictions. 

A food delivery truck is looted in Bishop Lavis in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Armand Hough

Many have criticized the government’s strict lockdown rules, including the prohibition of the sale of alcohol or cigarettes for almost seven weeks, as being irrational, arbitrary, and brutally imposed. 

Former finance minister Trevor Manuel, is among those who say that lockdown restrictions have been too harshly implemented.

“There are daily reports of the abuse of power by the security forces, including assaults with sjamboks [leather whips]; the arrest of citizens for the pettiest of infractions; the payment of admission of guilt fines by people desperate to get out of custody, and a long list of instances of misbehaviour,” Manuel wrote.

But the government has defended its strict restrictions as a means of saving lives. 

“Imposing a nationwide lockdown gave our country a strategic advantage,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a recent national newsletter. “It bought us valuable time to prepare our health system and put in place containment measures. This has slowed transmission and saved lives.”

According to the South African Department of Health, there have been 10,652 COVID-19 infections confirmed in South Africa, with 206 deaths. Although the infection rate remains low compared to those in other countries, some are concerned that the actual infection rate may be far higher, given that only 6,004 tests have been conducted per million people. 

The infection rate has also been increasing sharply and is expected to worsen during the winter months from May until August, when it is expected to reach a peak.

“The coronavirus crisis will pass,” said President Ramaphosa. “But for as long as it remains a threat to the lives of our people, we must remain vigilant, diligent and responsible. We will need to adapt to new ways of worshipping, socialising, exercising and meeting that minimise opportunities for the virus to spread.”

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“We don’t have time in the middle of a pandemic for publicity stunts,” said McEnany.

McEnany said that Nita Lowey, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee chairwoman, was “unable” to provide a purpose for the hearing or its subject matter. McEnany cited this lack of purpose as justification for barring the hearing.

But earlier this week, President Trump said that he was barring Dr Fauci’s testimony before House committees because the House is comprised “Trump-haters” wanting to damage him politically. 

Instead of testifying before the Democrat-led House, McEnany said that Dr. Fauci would instead testify before “the Republican-controlled Senate”. McEnany said that the notion that Dr. Fauci was being blocked from testifying was “farcical”, and that Democrats in the Senate would be able to question Fauci here.

House and Senate hearings serve as a valuable form of oversight as part of the government’s separation of powers. As Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Fauci is an important member of the government’s coronavirus task force.

On Tuesday, Trump said that this task force would be dissolved by the end of May. Today, President Trump withdrew this decision. McEnany refused to ask questions on the matter.

McEnany also said that not everyone needs to be tested for the coronavirus. Instead, testing should be strategically focused on vulnerable populations such as nursing homes, as well as meat processing facilities.

“The notion that everyone needs to be tested is simply nonsensical,” said McEnany.

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 Biden’s denial comes more than three weeks after Tara Reade alleged that he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers in a Senate building in 1993 while she was working as an aide. 

“They aren’t true,” said Biden in a statement issued on Friday. “This never happened.”

Since  Reade’s allegations were made, a number of her friends have come forward to corroborate her story, saying that . Reade told them about the incident after it happened in the 1990s.

Lynda LaCasse,  Reade’s former neighbor, has said that  she  reported the incident to her in 1995 or 1996.

“I don’t remember all the details,” LaCasse said. “I remember the skirt. I remember the fingers. I remember she was devastated.”

Up until now, Biden has remained noticeably silent on the matter. Instead of addressing the allegations directly himself, Biden had denied these allegations through campaign members as well as through the backing of various high profile women.

“I’m satisfied with how he’s responded,” said  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “I’m very proud to endorse him”.

Last week, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton endorsed Biden’s presidential campaign and praised his history of fighting against sexual violence.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, who is rumoured to be a possible candidate for Biden’s running mate, also voiced support for the former vice president.

“The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible,” said Abrams. “I believe Joe Biden”.

Some inconsistencies have been pointed out in  Reade’s allegations. She alleged that shortly after the incident, she complained to Marianne Baker, Biden’s executive assistant, as well as to top aides Dennis Toner and Ted Kaufman. However, all three of these people have categorically denied having received any such complaint.

 Reade initially alleged last year that Biden had made her feel uncomfortable by inappropriately touching her shoulder. It was only in March this year that Reade alleged that Biden had sexually assaulted her.

But  Reade said that the reporter with whom she first shared allegations of Biden’s inappropriate behaviour had made her feel uncomfortable and she was “shut down” from sharing the details of the full extent of Biden’s assault.

 Reade said that she filed a formal harassment complaint in 1993 with the congressional personnel office. Biden has said that if such a complaint were filed, then there would be a record in the National Archives. Biden has requested that the National Archives release any documents that may relate to such a complaint.

However, since Biden made this request on Friday, Reade has now said that the complaint she filed actually did not contain allegations of “harassment”.

Biden has not offered to release records from his Senate career which he donated to the University of Delaware in 2012. These records are currently sealed until Biden retires from public life – a usual agreement in such arrangements.

When pressed to make these documents public, Biden has responded that these records do not contain any personnel records and so would not contain any information about the alleged complaint. However, Biden has said that these documents contain other sensitive information which may be unfairly exploited against his current presidential campaign.

Democrats, as well as various prominent women’s organizations, have been criticized for hypocrisy in their handling of the allegations against Biden as opposed to those against Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, and President Donald Trump. Critics have said that Democrats who were quick to believe Kavanaugh’s and Trump’s accusers, have hesitated to believe  Reade.

Both 2020 Presidential candidates now have allegations of sexual assault against them. This is the first allegation of sexual assault against  Biden. There are over a dozen allegations against  Trump.

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After first announcing the plan on Twitter, President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday last week, suspending the granting of green cards to certain applicants for the next 60 days. Trump says that this order will protect American workers.

“This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens,” said President Trump in a press conference last week.

The Justice Action Center (JAC), the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and Innovation Law Lab have filed for an injunction to halt the order until a decision is reached in a prior lawsuit filed in 2019. The earlier case challenges the White House’s ability to ban immigrants who cannot prove their ability to obtain health insurance within one month of entering the country. The court issued a temporary injunction restraining this order, but the final decision is still pending. 

In a public statement, the plaintiffs have described Trump’s most recent executive order as “another unlawful attempt to upend the family-based immigration system that is fundamental to our society and shared prosperity.”

Democrats have also criticised the executive order, saying that Trump is capitalizing on the COVID-19 pandemic to push his anti-immigration policies. 

“Make no mistake: this executive order is not about protecting American workers,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Immigration and Citizenship Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. in a joint statement.

“The only thing it really accomplishes is keeping families apart. It is just an excuse to advance President Trump’s and [White House adviser] Stephen Miller’s anti-immigrant agenda.”

Democrats have also said that the order is not what is needed to solve the current economic crisis.

“I think it’s another diversion,” said New York Senator Chuck Schumer. “I think the President ought to stop these diversions. What we really need is a focus on testing, a focus on contact tracing, so that we can open up again. That should be the focus.”

But hardline anti-immigration advocates are also not satisfied, saying that the order excludes too many visa categories and will have little impact. In particular, they are disappointed that temporary workers, including those on H1-B visas for specialized skills, are not included in the order.

“The president’s decision to put a temporary halt on immigration was a prudent act in light of the unprecedented job losses, said Dan Stein, president of anti-immigration organization Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). “ But it will be rendered meaningless if large flows of guest workers continue unabated.”

“The measure on its own will have little effect,” wrote Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of conservative think-tank, Center for Immigration Studies’ (CIS’), in an op-ed that called the order “barely a start.” 

“Failing to pause this program before the next cohort of foreign workers arrives October 1 would make a mockery of the president’s claim to want to preserve American jobs for American workers,” said Krikorian.

The executive order applies only to those green card applications filed from abroad. It does not apply to applicants who are spouses or minor children of U.S. citizens, or to any applicants filing from within the United States. It also will not apply to immigrant investor visas or to temporary visas (including student visas and H-1B visas).

Despite these exceptions, the Migration Policy Institute estimates that the order will block 26,000 green cards each month and if extended, as Trump has warned it may be, the new policy could end up impacting up to 660,000 people.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said that this executive order is a first step, suggesting that further immigration restrictions may well be implemented.

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I dunno man, he doesn’t sound like a stable genius to me.#walkback#TrumpIsALaughingStock https://t.co/WwjdW0rPoL

— Adrian Gutierrez (@KitchenIsDads) April 24, 2020

Today, the president focused his six-minute address on the economy, welcoming the reopening of businesses in some states. 

“The country is in a great place and it’s going to be greater than ever before,'”said Trump.

The president also said that the U.S. would now be sending its surplus ventilators to other countries, including Germany.

“We have tremendous capacity, now over-capacity of ventilators,” said Trump. 

According to Worldometer, there are currently 777,243 active coronavirus cases in the US, with 36,148 cases having been detected in the past 24 hours.

US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Stephen Hahn then took over to talk about expanded coronavirus testing and treatment, as well as antibody testing. Hahn addressed concerns about some antibody tests being inaccurate, saying that these tests would not be put into place until they were proven safe and accurate.

Vice-President Mike Pence spoke for the remainder of the short press conference, offering a national overview as well as state-specific spotlights on progress made against the virus. Pence welcomed the use of websites to facilitate access to testing in both Iowa and Utah. He also praised a Missouri website highlighting those companies that are repurposing their manufacturing activities towards production of medical supplies.

Neither President Trump nor Vice-President Pence accepted any questions from reporters. Trump’s daily COVID-19 press conferences have often lasted for hours, whereas today’s conference lasted only 22 minutes.

But Twitter went wild ridiculing the president, who backed down on his  statements, calling them sarcastic.

Sarcasm?

We are still in the middle of a pandemic aren’t we? People are dying aren’t they?

We’ve lost 50,000+ Americans. Right?

The President’s team told him to brush it off as a joke?

Do I have that right? #TrumpDisinfectant #TrumpIsNotADoctor #TrumpIsALaughingStock pic.twitter.com/dioyKnFKDB

— Carol Sabik-Jaffe (@CarolSabikJaffe) April 24, 2020

Ya think? #TrumpIsALaughingStock pic.twitter.com/shZEVD7RYj

— Royanna Fritschmann (@RoyannaLea) April 24, 2020

*BREAKING NEWS*
Trump appoints new head of HHS.#Lysol #Clorox #MrClean #TrumpIsNotADoctor #TrumpIsAMoron #TrumpIsALaughingStock #TrumpIsTheWORSTPresidentEVER #TrumpIsTheVirus #ElectAVirusExpectAPandemic #TrumpPressConference #TrumpIsKillingAmericans #TrumpLiesPeopleDie #Trump pic.twitter.com/jDJRjz6F4l

— Andrea Wikso (@kismet66) April 24, 2020

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 The President accused the WHO of focusing its response to the virus on China, despite the fact that the US last year donated far more to the organization than China did.

“Everything was China-centric,” said  Trump. “China spends 42 million, we spend 450 million and everything seems to be China’s way. That’s not right, it’s not fair to us and honestly it’s not fair to the world”.

Trump also blamed the WHO for initially downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus, and being wrong in their early advice regarding the virus. Although the WHO only declared the virus to be a pandemic on March 11th, it described the virus as a “public health emergency of international concern” on January 30th – indicating that it was an international threat not just limited to China. On February 4th, the WHO escalated this classification to an epidemic with multiple locations. 

But  Trump continued to dismiss the virus’s seriousness as late as February 27th. This was despite a White House Memo presented on February 23rd showing a projected infection of 100 million Americans and 1 to 2 million deaths.

According to the Who from Jan 21 to  8 Apr 2020, there have been 363,321 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 10,845 deaths in the U.S.

The memo, which was published on Tuesday, was prepared by White House trade advisor Peter Navarro and labeled “MEMORANDUM TO PRESIDENT”. It was sent through the National Security Agency, then-acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and the COVID-19 task team. Today Trump denied having seen the memo in February. 

Trump continued to advocate for the use of anti-malaria medication hydroxychloroquine in treating the virus. This is despite Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, having warned that there is no evidence to suggest that this medication is effective in treating COVID-19.

While testing has been limited, the FDA has reported serious side effects from the drug including irreversible retinal damage, cardiac arrhythmias, muscle weakness, severe drops in blood sugar, hallucinations and harmful interactions with other medications.  President Trump said that 30 million hydroxychloroquine pills were being released to treat the virus.

According to data from John Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, there are currently 429,052 people infected with COVID-19 in the USA, more than any other country. President Trump today attributed the country’s high number of infections to the fact that testing has been more extensive in the USA than in other countries. 

“That’s testing,” said President Trump. “We’re testing more than anybody.”

However, according to Worldometer Coronavirus statistics, the USA ranks 44th in the world when it comes to the number of tests administered per million residents.

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After a 23 hour journey from an eerily empty Newark airport, I have landed in my home country of South Africa on the last flight out before all major airlines discontinued the route due to concerns over the coronavirus. I still have another domestic flight to catch in order to get home, but it’s looking unlikely that I’ll make it after a two hour wait on the tarmac as health officials check the temperatures of all passengers onboard the plane ahead of us.

I breathe a sigh of relief as the official marks down my temperature and moves on, without forcibly removing me from the plane and ushering me into a forced quarantine detention center. Of course I wouldn’t have a temperature yet if I’d contracted the coronavirus during my long journey surrounded by a planeful of nervous mask-wearing and hand-sanitizing passengers. Or from the lovely gentleman sitting next to me who coughed about 42 times during the flight (not that I was counting). But for now I’m temperature-free and allowed to enter my home country.

It’s funny how a global pandemic forces you to rethink a lot of questions, including where home is. After six years living the United States, I generally consider it to be my home. But when the government tells all Americans to stay put and those abroad to return “home” – it doesn’t include me, a non-resident and non-citizen. 

Fully aware that I may be stuck out of the US for months, I made the decision to return to the place where I grew up and where my family still lives – the closest thing to home despite having spent most of my adult life abroad. Upon arrival, I was told that having come from a “high risk country” (the U.S.), I would be required to immediately self-quarantine for two weeks.

This isn’t easy when you’re staying in the same household as your 65 -year-old, at-risk father who doesn’t know what hand sanitizer is and who rolls his eyes at the mere mention of the term “social distancing”. After managing to escape his welcome home hug and cut the greeting short to an awkwardly polite wave, I then embark upon two weeks of avoiding the kitchen or any other communal living areas, and eating meals at a distance of 4 meters apart. 

I see his face wince at the sight of the terribly environmentally unfriendly foreign Clorox wipes that I have smuggled from the U.S. and am now asking him to use liberally. He politely nods, but I notice the supply hasn’t decreased at all besides from my own regular wipe downs of the fridge door, light switches, sink faucet, and trash can lid for on the odd occasion that I absolutely have to enter the kitchen.

Four days after arriving, the whole of South Africa was placed under a three-week national lockdown. No dog walking, no beach visits, no alcohol sales. In a country where health services are grossly under resourced, over 13% of the population has HIV and almost 1% has tuberculosis, coronavirus could hit hard. But with over 50% of the population living in poverty, so will an economic shutdown.

Right now, there are no flights between South Africa and the U.S. So if my boss requires me back at the office in New York City, it’s not going to happen any time soon. But when a global pandemic strikes and you’re forced to choose where you’re going to be stuck for an indefinite period of time facing a potentially deadly virus, home quickly becomes more than where you live or work, but where you’ll find the people you love most.

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At a White House Coronavirus Task Force news conference  yesterday, President Trump responded to the news by saying “Romney’s in isolation? Gee, that’s too bad”.

Trump and Romney have clashed on a number of issues, most recently over Romney’s sole Republican vote to convict Trump for abuse of power in his impeachment trial. Asked whether President Trump intended sarcasm with his comment, the President responded “No, no, none whatsoever”. His tone suggested otherwise, though.

Senator Romney and Senator Paul are amongst five senators currently quarantined, including Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) and Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida).

At the press conference, President Trump continued to refer to the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus”, despite the virus having spread significantly throughout the world and Italy having overtaken China as the virus’s epicenter. President Trump also claimed that China did not give the US significant warning about the severity of the virus.

“I’m a little upset with China,” said President Trump. “They should have told us about this.” 

Vice-President Mike Pence announced at the conference that 254,000 Americans have now been tested for the coronavirus, with just over 30,000 testing positive. The President said that the FDA has just approved a coronavirus test which will deliver results within 45 minutes. Manufacturing will begin before the end of March.

President Trump announced that the National Guard has been deployed to New York, California and Washington. The states will also be receiving respirators, surgical masks, gloves and other medical supplies. Medical stations will also be supplied to these states providing additional beds for COVID-19 patients. Trump stressed that the states would not be financially responsible for these resources, which would be funded by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

On the topic of whether undocumented persons seeking coronavirus testing and treatment could be subject to arrest and deportation, the President offered no guarantee that this would not happen. 

Side-stepping the question, Vice-President Mike Pence said that Customs and Border Protection does not target hospitals or testing facilities. President Trump said that undocumented persons would have access to virus testing. However neither offered a conclusive answer as to whether or not an undocumented person could be arrested or deported following coronavirus testing or treatment.

Without giving a definite timeline as to how long current lockdowns and restrictions will remain in place, the President said that the current restrictions would be reassessed after 15 days (since their announcement on March 15).

“I think you have to shut it down and you have to see,” said  Trump. “But there’ll be a point at which we say ‘We’re back in business. Let’s go.”’

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“I think many of us may feel hurt and angry for those stigmatizations and discriminations,” said Yao Wang, President of the NYU Chinese Student Support Group. 

According to Worldometer, a live independent statistics website, there have been 45,222 reported infections to date and 1,118 people confirmed dead globally as a result of the coronavirus. Thirteen  infections have been reported in the US. There were six people in New York City who reportedly showed symptoms of the virus, but the city’s Department of Health has since declared all six to have tested negative for the virus.

In the wake of the outbreak, Wang said that there had been incidents of discrimination, insults and violence against students of Asian descent in New York City. Wang also said that anti-Asian rhetoric had been spread on social media. 

“Some offensive words on social media such as ‘Chinese Virus’, ‘Wuhan Virus’, and ‘Isolate Chinese People’ really break our hearts,” said Wang. 

Throughout social media, people have referred to the Coronavirus as “ChinaVirus” or “WuhanVirus”. Yao Wang, President of the NYU Chinese Student Support Group, says that these labels are hurtful as they encourage ethnic and regional prejudice.

Wang also referred specifically to anti-Chinese messages written in a bathroom at the Columbia School of Social Work as well as on a blackboard in the Columbia Main Library.

Kally Zhao, President of the NYU Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said that labeling this virus as “China Virus” is offensive.

“It’s deeply offensive because when there is a flu outbreak in the US no-one calls it ‘US virus’. And Zika and Ebola – no-one calls them by their origin. But all of a sudden because China is the country where this virus had its first outbreak it’s being named after a nationality and an ethnicity”. 

Comparing the current rhetoric to century-old anti-Asian sentiments, Zhao said “I’m just really surprised how people really didn’t make any progress since the Yellow Peril”.

Zhao said that incidents of anti-Asian discrimination, mandatory self-quarantining, and concern for family members in China are causing Chinese students a lot of stress.

“I think it’s definitely hard because first of all you’re by yourself and I think by being asked to self-quarantine there’s also certain connotations. And then if you talk to family members back home about it you know they may have certain feelings about it and basically it’s just a lot of stress on one person”.

Both NYU and Columbia have enforced a mandatory self-quarantining of all students returning from China. Students are required to stay in their homes and avoid contact with other people.

“I received a report of an incident where one of the international students who had a really high fever was sent to the hospital but the hospital refused to hospitalize her,” said Zhao. “So she was essentially sent home with medicine to be self quarantined”. 

A message found in a restroom at Columbia School of Social Work in New York City. Photograph shared by Yao Wang, President of the NYU Chinese Student Support Group.

But Chinese students are not the only people impacted by the virus. Mae Lee, Executive Director of the Chinese Progressive Association, said that small business owners in Chinatown are also suffering because of people avoiding Chinatown in fear of the Coronavirus.

“The small business owners say they’re getting noticeably less business,” said Lee. “Many of their business is from visitors who don’t live there so somebody’s reacting in terms of not coming down to Chinatown”.

Lee said this was unusual at this time of year as the Chinese Lunar New Year which took place over the past two weeks usually attracts more visitors.

But with no reported infections in the city, compared to thousands of influenza infections, health care providers say that people in the US should be more concerned with ordinary influenza than with the coronavirus. 

“We advise the community to be cautious, but not panic about the Coronavirus,” said Dr Perry Pong, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in Chinatown. 

“Everyone should get their flu shot since we have seen an increase in flu cases during this flu season which have similar symptoms to the Coronavirus,”  said Dr. Pong.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported up to 12 million cases of flu-like symptoms and 310,000 hospitalizations related to the flu since flu season began on October 1. New York City is reported as having a high level of influenza-like illness (ILI), with 10 children having died of flu in the past week. Only 13 people have been confirmed infected with the Coronavirus in the US, none of which are in New York City.

“We ask people to just take appropriate hygienic precautions,” said Dr. Perry. “Wash your hands, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your arm if you cough or sneeze, and stay home if you are ill.”

In China, health authorities have suggested that as a precaution against the Coronavirus, along with washing hands regularly, people should wear surgical masks to avoid becoming infected and also to avoid infecting others. As such, many Chinese people in New York City have been wearing surgical masks as a precaution against the virus. However, many have found that surgical masks hold a stigma in the US which they do not back in China.

“I personally definitely notice when I am wearing a facial mask in public people are very hesitant to approach me,” said Zhao. “I get weird looks all the time”.

Zhao said that many Chinese people are now afraid to wear masks in public because of recent hate crimes against Asian people wearing masks.

Zhao referred specifically to a video that has spread throughout social media platforms showing a man violently attacking a woman of Asian descent who is wearing a facial mask. The event occurred at Grand Street station on February 2nd and the woman who posted the video claimed that the attacker called the victim a “diseased bitch” before hitting her over the head with an umbrella.

Wang said that a lot of prejudice originates from misunderstanding around the wearing of masks.

“In China, it’s very common to wear masks in our daily life. People may wear masks if they have a cold, if they’re allergic to pollen or dust, facing hazy weather, or even if they have no make-up on.”

But Wang said that here in the US, wearing a mask is interpreted as a sign of serious illness. This has lead to stigmatization and discrimination around the wearing of masks.

“Some people fear to wear masks on the street even if they have a cold and just don’t want to infect others,” said Wang.

As Chinese New Yorkers worry about families and friends back home, Lee urged fellow New Yorkers to visit Chinatown, to speak to people within the Chinese community, and to take steps to learn more about the situation and what Chinese people are currently going through.

“The virus is the illness,” said Lee. “It’s not the person.”

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