A new narrative from the mainstream media and Democrats is beginning to spread relating to the COVID-19: Calling it the Wuhan virus/coronavirus is racist and bigoted.
The accusations were sparked on Sunday after Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) referred to the disease as the "Wuhan virus" while announcing he is imposing a self-quarantine after possibly being exposed to the virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
FYI: Calling #COVID19 the "Wuhan Virus" is racist.
— David Gura (@davidgura) March 9, 2020
Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus. https://t.co/cMrsA59xTH
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 9, 2020
weird that you're calling it the Wuhan Virus when CDC has termed it COVID-19 https://t.co/PeIy5jt0yN
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 9, 2020
The fact that Gosar is calling coronavirus the Wuhan Virus is a reminder that he previously talked about sexual abuse from immigrants and said "We know these men come from commonly Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Muslim backgrounds." https://t.co/xctwnAbs4W
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) March 9, 2020
Dear @DrPaulGosar: I will pray for you, your staff & the person hospitalized.
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 9, 2020
Also, calling #COVID?19 the Wuhan Virus is an example of the myopia that allowed it to spread in the US. The virus is not constrained by country or race. Be just as stupid to call it the Milan Virus. https://t.co/of91p65mIO
With the outbreak originating out of Wuhan, China in December, both television and print media had called the disease the Wuhan virus/coronavirus for weeks. The novel virus was officially labeled COVID-19 by the World Health Organization in early February. So was the media acting out in racism prior to the virus being named? Of course not.
Humanity has long called new diseases based on where the location they originated out of and the examples are endless: Lyme disease, Ebola, West Nile virus, Zika virus, Lassa fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
The narrative to completely divorce the city of Wuhan from the virus is also exactly what the authoritarian Chinese government wants. They want people to forgot the whole reason why the world is dealing with a global outbreak is because of their slow and botched attempts to contain the virus, despite warning from medical professionals on the ground at the beginning of the disease.
