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US President Donald Trump – under fire for labelling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus” – has said Asian Americans should not be blamed for the outbreak.
He said it is “very important that we totally protect” Asian Americans, whom he praised as “amazing people”.
Mr Trump spoke out amid rising reports of verbal and physical attacks on the community amid the pandemic.
Coronavirus is still spreading in the US, which currently has over 43,000 confirmed cases and 533 deaths.
At a White House coronavirus task force news conference on Monday, Mr Trump said: “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States and all around the world.
“They’re amazing people and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape or form.
“They’re working closely with us to get rid of it – we will prevail together.”
Asked by a reporter why he had spoken out after using the term “Chinese virus”, Mr Trump said: “It seems that there could be a little bit of nasty language toward the Asian Americans in our country and I don’t like that at all.
“These are incredible people, they love our country and I’m not going to let it happen.”
A recent study from San Francisco State University found a 50% rise in news articles reporting coronavirus-related discrimination against Asian Americans.
During press conferences last week, Mr Trump used the term “China virus” and “Chinese virus”, rejecting suggestions from reporters that the term was racist.
“It comes from China,” Mr Trump said last week. “It’s not racist at all.”
The World Health Organization has issued guidance against using geographic locations when naming illnesses to avoid “stigmatising certain communities”.
The US is currently in the middle of 15 days of social distancing.
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But on the day that Britain announced a national lockdown to combat the virus, Mr Trump announced that America would reopen for business “very soon”.
“We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” he told reporters.
Mr Trump said the country had “learned a lot” about social distancing and hand washing.
“We have to open our country because that causes problems that in my opinion could be bigger problems, far bigger,” he added.
“This is a severe medical situation that could cause problems far beyond the medical.”
Mr Trump added: “If it were up to the doctors, they’d say let’s shut down the entire world.”
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From ‘Chinese virus’ to ‘amazing people’
Analysis by Zhaoyin Feng, BBC News Chinese, Washington
In describing Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus”, Mr Trump has been accused of attempting to deflect scrutiny for his handling of the current crisis in America on external factors.
Despite mounting criticism from China and Asian Americans, the president and several high-ranking US officials have continued to use the term.
Other than potentially stigmatising Asian-Americans, Mr Trump’s labelling of the “Chinese virus” could turn out to be a self-inflicted wound in the 2020 presidential election.
Asian-Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the US. According to recent surveys, this community’s voters have increasingly leaned Democratic in the past few years, and their votes are becoming influential in electoral battleground districts.
Even as he lavished praise on Asian Americans on Monday, the president was accused of breaking, rather than mending, fences.
“They [Asian Americans] are working closely with us to get rid of it [virus],” he tweeted, leading some observers to take offence at the apparent dichotomy between Asian-Americans and “us”.
What’s the latest in the US?
The US now has the third highest number of cases in the world, behind Italy and China.
Ohio, Louisiana, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana and Massachusetts on Monday became the latest states to issue a stay at home order for residents. Critical services, like pharmacies and grocery stores, will remain open. As these orders go into effect, some 100 million Americans will face restrictions.
Maryland and Massachusetts have shuttered non-essential businesses and Virginia has closed schools for the rest of the academic year.
North Carolina has closed schools until 15 May and on Monday banned gatherings of more than 50 and mandated that some businesses, like gyms and movie theatres, close this week.
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National Guard troops are also helping distribute food and medical supplies across the country.
The head of the US National Guard, General Joseph Lengyel, described the situation as having “54 different hurricanes hitting every state”.
As officials state by state clamour for aid, Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Monday said the US military “can’t meet everybody’s needs”.
Mr Esper said the Pentagon is working to send field hospitals to support the cities of New York and Seattle.
On Monday, the top US public health official, Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams, said: “I want America to understand this week it’s going to get bad.”
He noted on NBC morning show Today that young people especially were ignoring guidance to practise social distancing.
The University of Tampa in Florida meanwhile said that at least five students who ignored social distancing advice to party on spring break had since tested positive for Covid-19.
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