Let’s fight COVID-19 without pointing fingers

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting global pandemic, taking precautions and social distancing have become an integral part of our lives. Rumors and fake news have run rampant, as has stigma against individuals who had or may have contracted the disease. Similarly, organizations or communities in which the virus spread have also experienced severe contempt and abuse.

How has this been playing out in Japan?

Stories about COVID-related stigma have been reported nationwide. These include harassment towards long-distance travelers who may or may not have the virus. In extreme cases, owners of cars with out-of-prefecture license plates have been verbally abused and tailgated, with residents of local communities seeing them as a threat.

For example, after several students from Kyoto Sangyo University tested positive for the virus in late March, the school was bombarded with anonymous threats. According to the sources, some even urged the university to reveal the identity of the patients, threatening to set a fire on the campus if they did not comply. The blaming of the patients also spread on social media. It escalated into discrimination against other students and university staff. Some students were forced to quit or take time off from their part-time jobs, while some of the university staff’s children were even denied entry to their pre-schools.

What are officials doing to curb the stigma?

In response to these unseemly incidents, the government and municipalities are releasing human rights statements to protect people who have suffered from COVID-19 stigma. In addition to showing zero-tolerance against COVID-related discrimination, several local authorities have taken robust actions against misinformation and groundless rumors. In Mie, Tottori and Nagasaki, prefectural offices are conducting online surveillance to eliminate harmful information towards COVID-19 patients. Once they find abusive messages or comments targeted towards specific groups of people or individuals, they store such data for legal purposes.

Challenge the stigma, and stay resilient as a society

The prolonged impact of COVID-19 has understandably incited frustration and anxiety in our society. However, these emotions should be directed at the deadly virus itself, not the patients who are fighting against it. Whether or not a person was taking precautions to avoid the virus, it provides no benefit to stigmatize or abuse them. Casting aspersions on the patients and their families only serves to demoralize them and can affect their mental or emotional health over the long term.

The power of stigma can hurt us all. The public shame associated very likely leads some people to hide their infection status or discourages them from being tested for COVID-19. Both behaviors weaken society’s response to the pandemic as a result. Research from past epidemics shows that reluctance to seek medical care plays a role in the undetected spread of viruses. Just as hand-washing and social distancing became new social norms, support for one another and a focus on fact-based information should be a civic responsibility.