Photograph Of Trump’s Remarks Shows ‘Corona’ Crossed Out And Replaced With ‘Chinese’

On Thursday, a Washington Post photographer captured an image of President Trump’s notes that shows the word ‘Corona’ crossed out and replaced with ‘Chinese’ in a description of COVID-19. 

According to NBC, this edit appears to have been made in Sharpie in the president’s own handwriting.

This comes after the president told reporters on Wednesday that his consistent linking of COVID-19 to China is “not at all” racist. 

Although COVID-19 did indeed originate in Wuhan, many say Trump’s descriptions of ‘China virus’ and ‘Chinese virus’ play into a rise in anti-Asian sentiment.

Several Asian American non profits launched websites this week to monitor and report such acts of discrimination against Asian people surrounding the coronavirus. 

The World Health Organization has cautioned since 2015 against the use of geographic locations, species names or cultural terms in naming diseases. 

“Viruses know no borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity or the color of your skin or how much money you have in the bank,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, told CNN. “It’s really important that we be careful in the language we use.”