A survey released on Tuesday found that more than 30 percent of Americans have witnessed someone blame Asians for the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC News reports.
The Ipsos survey was conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit investigative journalism organization that covers topics like politics, the environment, national security and immigration.
Around 60 percent of Asian Americans reported that they have seen someone blame Asians for the coronavirus pandemic.
A slim majority of respondents said that they viewed the pandemic as a natural disaster, but 44 percent blamed people or specific organization. Nearly two-thirds of those respondents mentioned China or Chinese people.
The Ipsos survey is now one of several reports that have detailed an increase in anti-Asian bias against Asian Americans. In late March, the FBI warned of an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to ABC News. STOP AAPI HATE, a reporting center that launched on March 19, 2020 in response to increased anti-Asian behavior, has now received over 1,500 reports of coronavirus discrimination from Asian Americans.
Instances of violence have made national headlines. A man stands accused of stabbing an Asian American family at a Sam’s Club in Texas in March. He thought the family was “Chinese infecting people with the coronavirus,” according to KTSM. A 16-year-old Asian American boy from California was sent to the hospital after school bullies attacked him and accused him of having the coronavirus, CBS News reports. Multiple Asian restaurants have reported instances of racist vandalism.
“We’re already seeing an increase in physical assaults, refusal of service and vandalism,” said Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, told NBC News, “despite the fact that 95 percent of Americans are sheltering in place.”
Choi added that she worries about what will happen when shelter in place orders are lifted.
“We are preparing for worst-case scenarios,” she said.
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