Politicking on the pathogen: Row between US and China over ‘Wuhan/Chinese virus’

WASHINGTON: A diplomatic row erupted on Tuesday between Washington and Beijing over nomenclature of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 even as federal and state leaders in the U.S are sparring over how to handle the crisis amid a rolling shutdown of social activity and non-critical businesses across the world’s largest economy.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday twice described the novel pathogen as a “Chinese virus,” leading to a sharp rebuke from Beijing, which accused “certain American politicians” of stigmatizing China at a moment of crisis for the world.

UNESCO too implicitly admonished Washington saying viruses have no nationality, but supporters of the U.S President argued that if terms such as Spanish Flu, German Measles, and Japanese Encephalitis could be used without attributing racist motives, then Chinese virus was perfectly fine since the pathogen originated in China.

In fact, several US leaders, including some Republican lawmakers and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo