18 BEIJING REVIEW MARCH 26, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com
A
s the novel coronavirus situation in the
U.S. worsens, President Donald Trump’s
March 16 tweet calling the virus “Chinese
virus” inß amed an already rampant xenopho-
bic sentiment in the country. The racist tweet
put the large Asian community in a dangerous
position, and experts warned that racism could
hamper the global efforts to curb the spread
of the disease.
“During the swine flu epidemic of 2009
in California, a lot more people died, but
there was no demonization of Californians or
Americans,” Joan Kaufman, former associate
professor of health policy and management
at Columbia University’s Mailman School of
Public Health, said.
Wan Yang, an epidemiologist at
Columbia University, warned that racism
will discourage people with early-stage mild
symptoms to seek testing and treatment.
“We want people to feel comfortable to talk
to their doctors when they do have symp-
toms, so we can get cases isolated, treated
and stop the transmission as early as pos-
sible,” Yang said.
The Trump administration is increasingly
criticized for taking few stringent actions to
contain the spread of the coronavirus except
for the racist and fallacious blame. A growing
number of politicians and epidemiologists
are calling for action from the federal govern-
ment to centralize resources and maximize
the physical capacity to battle against the
coronavirus.
Zhuoxuan Tian, a Chinese student, has
witnessed the coronavirus containment mea-
sures both in China and the U.S. She visited
her family in Beijing during the Chinese New
Year in January and then returned to New
York to continue her study. She said ordinary
American people “don’t have adeTuate knowl-
edge” about the seriousness of the virus and
“the harm it can cause” as a result of “the gov-
ernment’s sluggish guidance in terms of the
nature of this virus.”
Yuting, a Chinese national who works in
Chicago and declined to give her last name,
booked her flight back to China as soon as
her manager approved her leave of absence.
“I travel by plane every week for my work and
am exposed to a large number of travelers.
Some of them may have contracted the virus
but didn’t know yet,” she said. “They might not
even think about getting tested and treat the
symptoms just as normal ß u.”
Yuting said she feels bitterly disappointed
that “the sacriĶ ces that China made and pre-
cautions that Asians took are not appreciated,
and even condemned.”National effort needed
In a letter addressed to Trump on March 15,
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said,
“Every country affected by this crisis has han-
dled it on a national basis. The United States
has not.”
As more cases are identiĶ ed, states will
inevitably face an overß ow of contagious pa-
tients and shortage of hospital beds. In New
York, the state with the most confirmed
cases in the U.S., there are 214 hospitals
with 53,470 beds, only 3,186 of which are
intensive-care beds, according to official
data. If the outbreak peaks in 45 days, basedFailing to Get
Its Act Together
U.S. unable to devise national strategy even after lesson from China By Sherry Qin
WORLD