How the Beginning of an Epidemic can Aggravate Tensions among Social Groups
Global media outlets and government institutions are going into overdrive to spread information about a new strain of coronavirus originating in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. With more than 800 people infested, dozens dead, and cases already spreading to eight countries, there is clear urgency for significant measures to be taken globally to ensure that necessary precautions and medical resources are in place to prevent it from becoming a global-scale epidemic in the coming weeks and months. The Chinese government, for one, has taken dramatic measures to lock down entire cities to prevent the disease from spreading.
However, some of the comments coming out of the common people in the emerging global fear are truly disheartening. Netizens around the world are urging governments to halt transport links between their countries and China and to quarantine all recent visitors from China as a measure to fight the unknown virus. Among Chinese people, both in and outside China, there is a movement to distance themselves from Wuhan and the people there. The words "I am not from Wuhan" has taken on the meaning of "I am clean, unlike those people."
The quick, almost natural reflex for people to other those who are suspected to be from or in frequent contact with the origin of a contagious disease is all the more ironic given that contagion knows no race or geographic origin. While stories abound that wild animals sold at a Wuhan seafood market were responsible for the disease, people in Wuhan are certainly not anymore genetically vulnerable to the coronavirus than people in other parts of China or the world. To implicitly blame the people of Wuhan for the disease by ostracizing them certainly will not expedite the process of stopping the virus.
And to think that social othering is enough to stop a contagious virus is to truly underestimate the interconnectedness of the world today, afforded by modern channels of public and private transport. Wuhan, historically a major railway hub in central China, is a short distance from other major cities throughout the country. Plenty of direct international flights connect the city with all continents. The city's burgeoning manufacturing, research, and IT sectors have plenty of contact with people based around China and the world. A temporary lockdown may stop some people from moving in and out, but cannot stop 100% of people and goods from getting through.
So what should be done instead of outright othering? Paradoxically, a public health emergency may be a perfect time for greater interaction. A general public fearing contagion is more likely to take advice from healthcare professionals about the importance of forming good daily habits that prevent a virus from spreading in the first place. Some criticisms of China and Chinese people facing another epidemic should be an opportunity for teaching. Those who lack basic personal hygiene should be reminded that handwashing prevents disease. Lax customs control for biological materials should be clamped down.
Moreover, global medical resources should be shared to ensure that one country can contain the disease before it becomes a problem everywhere. Instead of isolating China and leaving Chinese health workers to deal with the epidemic on their own, epidemiologists from around the world should now, more than ever, work closely with their Chinese counterparts to ensure that China has all the resources and know-how available to fight the disease. Countries that have yet to see the disease should especially divert medical resources to China to prevent the disease from leaving the country.
And it is not only medical professionals who should move faster and together. Airlines, shipping firms, and customs officials from around the world need to better share information that they have available to track suspected virus carriers and isolate them before they move around the world. Concerted efforts must be carried out to stop or divert transport routes that go through areas where a significant number of cases are already present. Government officials, construction firms, and logistics providers also need to work together to ensure healthcare professionals have all the infrastructure they need to handle the staggering tasks of isolating virus-carrying individuals.
In a globalized world, no disease is local. Even if a disease emerges from a small seafood market in a city that most people in the world probably has never heard of, it can soon become everywhere as individuals have access to affordable and convenient transport options. In such a world, ostracizing a certain group of people, just because they are close to the source of the disease, is highly unproductive. The reflex, when an epidemic emerges, ought not to be to isolate but to gather resources from around the world and channel them to fight the disease close to the origin. The prevalence of othering over Wuhan coronavirus shows that there is plenty of room for improvement.
However, some of the comments coming out of the common people in the emerging global fear are truly disheartening. Netizens around the world are urging governments to halt transport links between their countries and China and to quarantine all recent visitors from China as a measure to fight the unknown virus. Among Chinese people, both in and outside China, there is a movement to distance themselves from Wuhan and the people there. The words "I am not from Wuhan" has taken on the meaning of "I am clean, unlike those people."
The quick, almost natural reflex for people to other those who are suspected to be from or in frequent contact with the origin of a contagious disease is all the more ironic given that contagion knows no race or geographic origin. While stories abound that wild animals sold at a Wuhan seafood market were responsible for the disease, people in Wuhan are certainly not anymore genetically vulnerable to the coronavirus than people in other parts of China or the world. To implicitly blame the people of Wuhan for the disease by ostracizing them certainly will not expedite the process of stopping the virus.
And to think that social othering is enough to stop a contagious virus is to truly underestimate the interconnectedness of the world today, afforded by modern channels of public and private transport. Wuhan, historically a major railway hub in central China, is a short distance from other major cities throughout the country. Plenty of direct international flights connect the city with all continents. The city's burgeoning manufacturing, research, and IT sectors have plenty of contact with people based around China and the world. A temporary lockdown may stop some people from moving in and out, but cannot stop 100% of people and goods from getting through.
So what should be done instead of outright othering? Paradoxically, a public health emergency may be a perfect time for greater interaction. A general public fearing contagion is more likely to take advice from healthcare professionals about the importance of forming good daily habits that prevent a virus from spreading in the first place. Some criticisms of China and Chinese people facing another epidemic should be an opportunity for teaching. Those who lack basic personal hygiene should be reminded that handwashing prevents disease. Lax customs control for biological materials should be clamped down.
Moreover, global medical resources should be shared to ensure that one country can contain the disease before it becomes a problem everywhere. Instead of isolating China and leaving Chinese health workers to deal with the epidemic on their own, epidemiologists from around the world should now, more than ever, work closely with their Chinese counterparts to ensure that China has all the resources and know-how available to fight the disease. Countries that have yet to see the disease should especially divert medical resources to China to prevent the disease from leaving the country.
And it is not only medical professionals who should move faster and together. Airlines, shipping firms, and customs officials from around the world need to better share information that they have available to track suspected virus carriers and isolate them before they move around the world. Concerted efforts must be carried out to stop or divert transport routes that go through areas where a significant number of cases are already present. Government officials, construction firms, and logistics providers also need to work together to ensure healthcare professionals have all the infrastructure they need to handle the staggering tasks of isolating virus-carrying individuals.
In a globalized world, no disease is local. Even if a disease emerges from a small seafood market in a city that most people in the world probably has never heard of, it can soon become everywhere as individuals have access to affordable and convenient transport options. In such a world, ostracizing a certain group of people, just because they are close to the source of the disease, is highly unproductive. The reflex, when an epidemic emerges, ought not to be to isolate but to gather resources from around the world and channel them to fight the disease close to the origin. The prevalence of othering over Wuhan coronavirus shows that there is plenty of room for improvement.
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