Asian Americans in Sacramento believe that more needs to be done to slow the spread of COVID-19 more than any other racial/ethnic group, according to CapRadio.
CapRadio and Valley vision polled residents in the eight-county capital city region. The poll found that Asian Americans were the most likely to be concerned that their friends or family members would contract COVID-19. About 80 percent of Asian respondents said that they think residents should stay focused on stopping the spread of the virus. Just over half of respondents from other racial groups expressed similar sentiments.
Asian Americans were also the most likely to be taking multiple safety precautions like wearing a mask or maintaining 6 feet of social distance.
Daniel Sakaya, president of Crossings TV, an Asian-language television station based in Sacramento told CapRadio he believes Asian Americans are more concerned because they are more aware of what’s happening in Asia.
“The primary piece is just culturally, Asian Americans just tend to be a little more aware of what’s happening in Asia, they became aware of coronavirus earlier than mainstream media, so they had more time to ramp up a certain concern about it,” Sakaya said. “I think there’s also more of a sense of collective society and thinking about what your behavior is and how it impacts others around you.”
Asian Americans in different communities across the country have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Outbreaks linked to a meatpacking plant in Nebraska have gravely impacted several Asian American families, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in May that Asian Americans accounted for half of all COVID-19 fatalities in San Francisco.
Asian Americans have also had to grapple with an increase in anti-Asian hate and violence since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a program created to track incidents of coronavirus-related harassment against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, has received over 2,000 reports of harassment and violence, ABC News reports.
“Seventy-five percent of Asian Americans are concerned that they will be targets or victims of COVID-19-related hate incidents. Obviously that’s a very high number, so individuals are taking safety precautions,” Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council told CapRadio.
Kulkarni says the rise in coronavirus-related harassment against AAPIs may explain why they’ve expressed more concern about the virus.
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