The sad reality of coronavirus in Australia: Asian man living on the Gold Coast is forced to wear a t-shirt with the slogan ‘I am not a virus’
- Asian man was captured wearing the shirt while staying at the Gold Coast
- Shirts are on offer with slogans ‘I am not a virus’ after outbreak of coronavirus
- Chinese-Australians claim they are being judged over fears of the disease
An Asian man staying in an Australian hotel was forced to wear a t-shirt with the slogan ‘I am not a virus’ in the wake of the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The man was captured wearing the shirt while he used an elevator in a hotel in Queensland’s Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Chinese-Australians have fallen victim to a string of racial remarks after the outbreak of the disease, with many claiming they are often judged by the public.
The disease spread from the Chinese province of Wuhan and has so far killed more than 1,800 people.
An Asian man was seen wearing a t-shirt with the slogan ‘I am not a virus’ while staying at a hotel in the Gold Coast
The photo was shared to Reddit with many Asian people saying they had also felt discriminated against.
‘It’s really sad that it has to come to this,’ someone wrote.
‘I’ve had people just ignore me, and I can’t tell if it’s because of the usual reason of not wanting to talk to somebody foreign because of the accent or because they think I’m riddled with a virus,’ another said.
‘I get funny looks at Chatswood for wearing a mask in a bid to keep myself safe,’ a third wrote.
Others said they were ignored by shop assistants.
‘The entire time I was in the store browsing, I was conscious of the fact that none of the staff approached me to help me with my selection of frames. Every other customer was helped. Won’t lie, felt like s**t,’ someone said.
‘Seriously though, I can’t even cough or sneeze in public without people shuffling away from me or giving me a sidewards glance, followed by a look of fear in their eyes,’ one person wrote.
Others shirts are circulating online in attempts to beat the stigma surrounding coronavirus including one that says Asians plus face masks do not equal the disease
Several t-shirts are now circulating online with slogans trying to beat the stigma surrounding coronavirus.
Shirts are on offer with phrases such as ‘I am Chinese and I am not a virus’, as well as ‘Asian plus face mask does not equal virus’.
The shocking photo comes in the wake of a series of racist comments Chinese-Australians have been subjected to since the outbreak of coronavirus.
A Melbourne Uber driver refused to pick up a Malaysian man only to text him ‘I don’t need coronavirus’.
Another Chinese woman was forced to wait in her car instead of the doctor’s office for an appointment because she was wearing a face mask.
Last month, a 60-year-old Chinese man collapsed from a heart attack on a street in Chinatown, Sydney.
Bystanders reportedly refused to give the man CPR over fears they would contract the virus.
Paramedics tried to revive the man but he died at the scene.
Chinese customers are seen wearing face masks as they wait to buy dumplings from a popular shop in Beijing