Besides 2 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 23 more are being tested amid public stigmatizing

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#discrimination

Ottawa, Jan 29 (Canadian-Media): It was confirmed by Ontario Wednesday morning that out of 23  people being watched and tested for possible infection in their laboratory, one of those  patients is in Ottawa, media reports said.

Coronavirus. Image credit: Twitter handle

A news conference was held today by Toronto council and leaders from the city’s Chinese-Canadian community urging the public not to stigmatize or associate the Chinese community with the virus.

“There will probably be more harm brought by racism, xenophobia, discrimination, harassment and racial taunts directed at members of the Chinese community and others of Asian descent than we will be harmed by the coronavirus,” Downtown councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam ​ told reporters. “That is an unfortunate consequence of what will happen unless we change course.”

It is important for the public to remember the virus does not see colour or nationality, said Mount Sinai Hospital Dr. Allison McGeer, who fell ill and beat the SARS virus in 2003.

“The problem is a virus – it’s not human beings, it’s not countries, it’s not aircrafts, it’s a virus,” she said, urging people to trust Canada’s public health workers. “We need to be very clear that our response to it is proportional and sensible and I have to say on a person level, if I am going to trust someone in my life, there is no body I will trust more than our public health professionals.”