Immense disappointment

I am writing to express my immense disappointment in the decision to include references to COVID-19 as the “Wuhan flu” or “WuFlu”, as included in the “Gazette takes measures, continues coverage” article in the March 19, 2020, edition of the Whitman County Gazette. Even if written or said in passing, it is unacceptable to refer to this virus by any name that ostracizes a group of people, for it paves the way for racism and false narratives about large groups of people who did not have anything to do with the virus. I know that the Gazette and Whitman County are better than this, and I am disappointed that those phrases were included without the foresight to think about how they affect members of our own community and of the larger world.

If I may direct you to the World Health Organization Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases document published in 2015, you will notice that these best practices were implemented “to minimize unnecessary negative impact of disease names on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare, and avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups.” Furthermore, on Page 3, Table B, the document clearly states that disease names may NOT include geographic locations (cities, countries, regions, continents). Therefore, perpetuating the use of terms such as the “Wuhan flu” and “WuFlu” is a direct violation of guidelines prescribed by the World Health Organization.

After President Trump’s recent comments about the virus during which he called it the “Chinese virus”, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program Dr. Mike Ryan said that “viruses know no borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity... so it’s really important we be careful in the language we use lest it lead to the profiling of individuals associated with the virus” (CNBC). Blatant racism toward people of Asian descent has been rising rapidly since the virus came into focus because names like the Wuhan Flu, WuFlu, and Chinese virus associate the illness with China and people of Asian descent. However, people of all ages, races, and ethnicities are susceptible to the virus. There is no excuse to spread bigotry against one group of people who are not responsible for this illness.

Please consider how the words you print circulate widely throughout this community and have the potential to perpetuate false narratives that harm innocent people.

Wash your hands and stay safe.

Kiah Miller,

Colfax