The Novel Coronavirus: Masks, Racism and Safety
I Feel A Lot Of Ways About The Novel Coronavirus aka COVID-19
And how it is making some people show their true colors. Especially as the first case in NYC has been reported.
Masks and Racism
Photo By Greg Rowe #girlwithmask
Just as 2019 was ending, the novel coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China. Initially, there was not too much fear of it in the US but just around the time I was preparing for Lunar New Year, it was hitting the news like crazy. I began to notice things. I typically wear a mask on the subway during flu season. On an ordinary day I definitely get weird looks but most people brush it off because people in NYC are too busy to care about my business. On one particular day I witnessed a gross amount of giggles, side eyes and whispering by groups of non Asian people. Fine. Stay away from me. The best thing about wearing a mask on the subway is that people do tend to keep their germs away from you. Because I work in Chinatown I saw many of the people around the area were wearing masks. About 5 days later I noticed a lot of non Asian people also began wearing masks. By the end of the week I heard the first report of an act of violence against a Chinese woman wearing a mask. Since then I have seen significantly less Asian people wearing masks. I have even been told by some friends to stop so that I don’t make myself a target for attack. The reality is, with or without a mask my face is still Asian. Since then, the number of violent incidents have been reported here in NYC have increased and in other cities. Everyday I see personal accounts of racism, harassment and violence talked about on various Asian American news outlets and Facebook groups.
Business in many Chinatowns all over the country have dwindled. I honestly have no idea how many patients are avoiding coming in right now due to the scare because of my location, because I share space with Cantonese speaking people, because I myself am of Chinese decent. I know that many people who see me know better but when it comes to racism you don’t ever truly know until people are put to the test. To be honest I don’t notice much of a change in my business at the moment but this is something I may never know for sure. Moving on…
Photo By Greg Rowe #girlwithmask
My local CVS does not carry masks -they never did. Many of the pharmacies local to the Union Square and Flatiron area DID NOT EVER carry masks. I know this because as mentioned before I wear them during flu season and have never seen them stocked. Recently, I was caught off guard with the outbreak of COVID-19 because I already had a stash of them, but by the time I wanted to re-up they were sold out in every Chinatown pharmacy due to the scares. I checked some of the local pharmacies hoping they would have decided to stock them because of recent events but they would all say “We ran out”. Which is total BS because when you look in the first aid section of the aisle you will see there is no space set for masks that happened to be sold out. They just never carried them to begin with but I encountered so many other Asian people like me, also looking for masks every time I went to the drugstore. By the time it became clearly dangerous for Asian people to be wearing masks, the pharmacy I first went to in my neighborhood has claimed they’ve “restocked” them.
Photo By Greg Rowe #girlwithmask
Socially, Asian people wear masks when they are sick in order to prevent the spread of their cough or cold. This is common courtesy. During flu season people like myself often wear them due to prevention. Just like the novel coronavirus, the flu can be something you’re carrying but not know! You can be a carrier for days or weeks before you actually get sick, or you can be a carrier and not get sick but just spread it to others. It is considered responsible and courteous to wear a mask.
The next thing I have encountered on masks is that I hear other healthcare professionals saying “wearing a mask is not even going to help!” It is true that wearing a mask will not totally, 100% protect you from contracting the flu or the novel coronavirus. I really suppose, nothing will 100%! BUT wearing a mask, washing your hands and being careful WILL help. I do not care that the surgeon general has recommended the public to stop wearing masks. If people who are not rich get sick, will the country provide care for them? What will it cost people? Can the average person here in the US afford it? When it comes to how healthcare is regarded in this country it is based on an “only the rich survive” model. I do not fall into this category. Instead I want to do some simple reasoning on this. From a Western perspective you're not sick until you're sick with symptoms. However with flu viruses you can still be a carrier before you get sick or be a carrier and not get sick. As someone who regularly wears a mask I will say that it keeps me more conscious and aware about how much I want to touch my face and how much I touch things in general. It reminds me to do it less! It doesn’t make me touch my face more. I have never regretted wearing a mask on 20 hr flights. Whenever I’ve wore a mask on a long flight I didn't get sick. It is true that there have been times I didn’t wear a mask on a flight and have gotten sick and times when I have not. We are also told by news outlets, the CDC and the surgeon general: if you're sick, don't go to work, self quarantine. I agree but this is no easy feat or reality in NYC. Raise your hand if you can easily miss days of work at your job when you’re feeling “kind of sick”? The incubation period for COVID-19 is 1-14 days. We all have different situations with work and other obligations and in some cases our situations can be more complicated than for others. It is not likely that everyone will follow this direction because they may not have the means to skip work if it means less money. Don’t forget that health insurance or lack of it, is designed to make us think twice before seeking medical care in many cases. This is just how capitalist society works.
Photo By Greg Rowe #girlwithmask
Additionally, Western Medicine is disease based meaning you have to have obvious or extreme symptoms before there is a diagnosis or treatment for you. I follow a prevention based protocol on health in general. This is the Chinese Medicine way. The spread of the novel coronavirus and the flu is by droplets. When someone sneezes or coughs and those tiny saliva droplets go airborne and then land on something you do not want to come in contact with them! So if you have a mask on, you are better protected than if you don’t. If you touch the subway pole that someone infected with something could have potentially sneezed on or picked their nose and touched and you’re wearing a mask, you’re less likely to touch your nose or mouth directly to be infected.
There is the issue with masks running out for when “healthcare professionals really need them”. I get that too, but again what about the average person who has the most minimal healthcare plan, who basically cannot afford to get sick but can afford a box of masks for preventative measures? Just because a study has not been done on whether or not masks help does not mean they “don’t help”. This just starts to feel like an attack on those who don’t have money and Asian people who typically use masks. It is also possible that the authorities don’t want us all running around the city in masks because it makes it much harder to surveil and monitor the general public.
Safety
Photo By Greg Rowe #girlwithmask
The number one thing that has presented itself to me immediately with the novel coronavirus is safety issues. This virus has shown just how much the public fears China (and East Asian presenting people) is dangerous. I know some of you came to this post to get all the do’s and don’ts the virus but I can’t because, the information is out there in excess right now. Suddenly everyone is a health expert telling you to wash your hands and I just don’t want to contribute to that noise. See links for the CDC and WHO at the end of this post if you really need to read more about obvious hand washing.
Here Are 10 Ways You Can Help With The Current Safety Issues Asian Americans Are Experiencing:
Check in with your Asian friends. Ask if they’ve experienced any racism and let them talk about it if they need. If you know someone who has been harassed or attacked, ask them if they need any help, offer to accompany them on the subway next time.
Be cautious about links and news articles you share. Make sure they are not reinforcing Sinophobia, racism, or fake news.
Stop shaming people who are wearing masks and saying “it’s not doing anything”. You don’t know if someone is a carrier or not and if someone is brave enough to wear a mask then they are really truly trying to protect their health. Maybe they’re not feeling well, there is no need to encourage someone to not take care of themselves due to your own issues or ego.
Understand that Asian people in Non Asian countries are really dealing with layers and layers of racism and many of us are not able to unpack it. We just want to be safe.
If you see someone being harassed, speak up and help them to safety.
Support your favorite Chinatown, Flushing or 8th Avenue Brooklyn businesses. Get a group of friends together to visit your favorite Chinese restaurant to check in with how they’re doing. Chinatown businesses are really taking a hit right now from Sinophobia.
If you hear someone making a racist joke about COVID-19, call them in and let them know that racism is actually a lot more dangerous than the virus.
Offer support if you know someone from China. They might be worrying about their loved ones who could be directly affected by the virus.
Context is everything. Please keep in mind what is going on politically in our country, who is in charge and how COVID-19 is being reported on and handled.
Wash your hands often. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and generally try to keep good healthy hygiene practices. If you’re showing symptoms do what you can to self quarantine! Please everyone be safe and more aware on the subway and walking around.
Preventative Measures I Am Taking
Just like any other Flu Season I always follow a cleaning protocol where I use Cavicide to wipe down door knobs, light switches, and other surfaces when I first come in to work, and then at lunch time and then again before I end the day. Cavicide wipes kill everything, so much so that you have to wear a mask and gloves when using it. It is stronger than bleach. I wash my hands very often already and take note to even wipe down my phone. I wear a mask on the subway and sometimes while with patients. The linens are more frequently laundered. I have been operating the same with or without the scares and give the same advice to my patients.
I am also opening my schedule up to accept Herbal Consultations via video call. This way if anyone in my community has the initial signs of illness we can jump on a call and set up an herbal formula that can be shipped to you right away. Make an appointment for my Immunity Community Clinic this Friday March 13.
I did not quote or pull from any news articles in this post because everything just feels like noise right now. I encourage everyone to get out of this herd mentality. Step away and go inward for a bit to find your common sense.
By Emily Grace Siy, L.Ac. who is wearing a mask on the subway sometimes and hoping to not be attacked for it. Feel free to ask me for a mask if you need one. March 4, 2020
Here is what is recommended by the CDC for prevention
Here is a link for FAQ on COVID-19 by WHO
Read this recent piece on BBC to hear more about how Sinophobia is spreading much faster than COVID-19.