Covid Awareness

Is coronavirus or the fear around it more dangerous ?

Is Coronvirus or the fear around it more dangerous?

The news about Coronavirus came first as a shock, then it has created fear amongst people worldwide. It was first covered in international media in December 2019 outbreaking in a town called Wuhan in central China. Since then the media has started panicking and somewhere it is right to blame them for the false narrative which has been fed to people. Asian people, have faced immense discrimination since the day international media started covering the news of virus. But first, what is this virus?

Coronavirus is an infection caused in nose, throat and was not considered to be dangerous at all. However in December 2019, a different type of virus impacted the citizens of China and the World Health Organization named it as COVID – 19. The virus has currently spread across the world and the number of deaths caused by this virus is increasing each day. As per the officials of WHO, the symptoms of virus are very similar to that of a cold or flu. It takes up to 14 days for the virus to fully impact the body. Humans with weak immune system are more at risk of dying from the virus. [1]

After the news of this outbreak, the environment around the world has rapidly shifted. From financial markets to airline industry, each person is being effected in one way or the other. The impact on the economies around the world cannot be unseen. Such is the threat of COVID – 19, that Japan has canceled the summer Olympic marathon and has declared a state of emergency. There are fears of a worldwide economic recession as the virus has now spread in most countries. [2]

Virus is spreading across continents as a wild forest fire but with it the fear is spreading more rapidly. People have started stocking up food supplies and the medicated masks are now out of stock in various online and medical stores.[3] The way fear works, it leads to some of nasty feelings towards a community. Already there are reports of racism being faced by communities who are not from China but Asian in general. Minor coughs or sneezing have people stare at you like it’s a crime. Some people on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have gone ahead and started targeting the eating habits of Chinese people, blaming them for eating “dirty”. In India itself, there are absurd news from people floating around in “WhatsApp” and on Facebook how the Cow dung and Cow urine is a cure from the virus. Such news and misleading information are bound to have reverse impact on general public.[4]

Asian people have reported how their lives are seriously impacted since the news has spread. There have been cases where people get up from their seats in public transport when they spot any Asian, irrespective of their connections to China. Inhuman practices like this should be curbed and people should be made aware of right information. There are fake news spreading across these mediums giving absolutely random “solutions” to prevent one from the virus. This sudden fearful environment is more dangerous than the actual virus. Lack of information is the most dangerous problem in any society or community. Governments and institutions of  various countries have advised people to stop spreading fake news and videos on various platforms. Social Media website Twitter has started directing its users to visit Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s website in order to read the most authentic information. This is a practical solution for people in order to sieve the news and information from real and fake. [5]

The social media alone is not be blamed for the false news and inducing fear mongering amongst people. The professional media channels of various countries are equally to be blamed. The Guardian has quoted how Daily Mail, printed a misleading article that the virus breakout has been caused by Chinese people eating “bat soup”. This led to series of videos, stories and everything to make people believe how the eating habits of Chinese people is to be blamed for this dangerous outbreak of virus. Another British newspaper Daily Star has linked the bat soup with the virus before Daily Mail shared the same article. The fake news has just made lives of Asian descendants difficult. The fake news mongering has killed the spirits of Asian people who are working in other parts of the world. The psychological impact on these people is going to be huge. Because of what the media and social networking sites are feeding people, the Asian community away from their home country will face mental breakdowns at work. The unfairness of this will be mostly dealt by this community than anyone else even when the virus has now impacted several European and American cities. [6] 

While there is no cure for the virus as yet, it is most important to find a cure for the fear which has been fed to people by misinformation. The blame is not just with the media channels but also the government of countries who have not regulated the content before it created panic. Today, while the virus has spread across in the world, the fear has enveloped the world more strongly. This unhealthy fear will have dangerous implications on people’s mental health. At this stage the health departments should create more awareness for the people which will help cure the fear. Once the fear is settled, people can take preventive measures and educate themselves. While the international health organizations are working rapidly to find solutions, the respective countries should ensure that authentic information is shared with the citizens of their country and preventive measures are taken when international citizens arrive in their country for work or otherwise. This might help people look carefully at the situation at hand rather than living in a fearful environment. This should be applicable to all countries, Asian or European.

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[1] https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus#1

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/02/28/coronavirus-live-updates/

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2020/02/02/fear-spreads-faster-than-any-coronavirus/#199932e6bf16

[4] https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-cow-urine-cow-dung-can-cure-coronavirus-assam-bjp-mla-suman-haripriya/348159

[5] https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/480749-the-coronavirus-is-causing-an-outbreak-in-anti

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/31/coronavirus-misinformation-spread-facebook-conspiracy-theories