In January 2020 the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic arrived in Australia.  By 1st June there were 6.8 million cases across the world, with over 397 thousand deaths. In Australia we have had 7265 cases and 102 deaths[1].

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Anyone can catch this virus regardless of culture or ethnicity. Some people from Asian countries have been wrongly attacked for being responsible for COVID-19 and we have seen more racist comments since the arrival ofCOVID-19.

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In the early stages of the pandemic people were scared and worried about catching COVID-19. Many wanted to blame others for the arrival of COVID-19. The pictures and stories in the media were frightening. This led many commentators to blame people because of their race or the colour of their skin. Fear can often lead to blame and racist behaviours.

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Australia introduced quarantine, isolation and health hygiene rules to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This included a call to stay at home except for essential travel and to physically distance from others when outside of home. We were also advised to wash our hands often and cover our noses when we coughed or sneezed. While these rules are really important, they can also lead to people becoming more watchful and worried.

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We know that many people living in regional Australia struggle to get the health care they need. We also know that this is even harder for people who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. We also know that people from diverse cultural backgrounds often experience racism and racism makes people sick. When we add COVID-19 to this mix we become really concerned about how people from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds are managing during the pandemic.

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If you identify as coming from a cultural and linguistically diverse background we’d like to hear from you. We want to know if and how racism has affected you so that we can improve health and community services.  Please click here

 

[1] Australian Government Department of Health, 2020