The misinformation surrounding the spread of the novel-coronavirus has had consequences in Carleton’s community. Kate Schellenberg, a master’s of journalism student at Carleton, said she worries her brother and sister-in-law—who are currently in China—will not be welcomed in Canada as a result of these misconceptions.
“I don’t know what you can do to educate people who don’t care to be educated,” Schellenberg said.
She added that a new hatred for these students based on “unfounded fears” will make it difficult for these students to settle in.
“We want students from China to feel welcome at Carleton,” she added.
Though the Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed there are no cases of the novel-coronavirus in Ottawa, a different concern remains for the city’s Asian community as a result of a lack of information—racism and xenophobia.
Yifan Li, a first-year journalism student whose father is a cardiac surgeon currently stationed in Wuhan, said she also believes the primary cause of coronavirus-based racism is people who “don’t know about the truth” and are afraid of contracting the virus.
“It’s not that serious, you barely see people wearing masks,” she said, adding that “it feels offens[ive].”
In order to avoid these kinds of damaging uncertainties, information surrounding the spread of the disease and its fatality rates should be made accessible to the public via health organizations’ websites and news articles, said Scott Mitchell, a science and health communication professor at Carleton.
However, he added that it remains crucial that people remain “critical about sources of information, the sheer quantity of coverage and to keep things in perspective.”
Jingyao Yu, a first-year journalism student, said she is disturbed by the racism surrounding the spread of coronavirus, and that perpetrators are simply looking for a reason to act out on their existing racial biases.
She added she believes students who are facing the brunt of this racism should “protect themselves by ignoring the bullies and posting on social media about it.”
Yu cited the government’s history of poorly handling epidemics as one of the reasons behind the rise of xenophobia.
Though the Public Health Agency has ruled Ottawa at low risk of the disease becoming a public health concern, the university outlined a series of guidelines directing the community to take precautions—including purchasing tissues and over-the-counter medication—to ease body aches and fever, since the outbreak of novel-coronavirus has coincided with the city’s flu season.
In an email to the Carleton community, president Benoit-Antoine Bacon emphasized the importance of respect regarding how the novel-coronavirus may impact people’s perceptions of Chinese-Canadians.
“We must continue to support each other—and in particular all members of the Chinese community—with respect and care.”
Featured image by Tim Austen.
