【全球齊心抗疫情 拒絕標籤與污名】[Hands off, stigma!]

新冠肺炎爆發以來有不少亞洲人和意大利人被標籤與歧視的新聞。其實每當世界出視新的疾病和感染，種疾歧視都常會衍生，同樣情況在伊波拉和中東呼吸綜合症均有發生。研究指出，歧視往往會阻礙疾病的控制。加強溝通和協助受影響社群比過度隔離更有作用。

恰當的疾病預防措施極為重要，多渠道傳播健康信息、公衆教育和防控合作都是促主傳染病控制的起點。

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the news that East Asians and Italians were labelled and stigmatised have been reported. Indeed, racial discrimination always occurs whenever there is a new form of diseases or infection. Similar situations occurred during the outbreak of Ebola and MERS. Studies revealed that discriminating against the most severely affected ethnic group often backfires. Enhancing communication with and assistance to the affected community is more useful than excessive isolation.

Appropriate disease preventing measures are vitally important. Dissemination of preventive information, public education and intergovernmental collaboration are the starting points of facilitating infection control.

#hongkong #infection #infectiousdisease #coronavirus #mentalhealth #racism #discrimination #stigma #asian