The deep stigma of those infected by covid in China

When Zuo tested positive for covid-19 as a cleaning worker in one of Shanghai’s largest quarantine centers, she was confident that she would soon be picking up the mop and going back to work. But four months have passed and she is still waiting.

It is one of many cases of covid-19 patients facing what human rights activists and health experts say is a widespread form of discrimination linked to China’s covid-zero strategy.

Through sudden lockdowns and massive tests on the population, China is the last major economy in the world that persists in the goal of completely eradicating the virus from its territory.

Those who test positive and their close contacts are sent to guarded quarantine facilities. An outbreak in a factory can bring production to a standstill.

Human rights associations indicate that these strict rules are fueling discrimination linked to covid-19 and expelling thousands of people from the already bleak Chinese labor market, especially migrant workers and young people.

"People are afraid of getting the virus from us, so they avoid us"says Zuo, who only gives his last name for fear of reprisals.

"Recruiters check multiple months covid testing history during interview"he assures.

China’s strict control measures lead to stigma not only for recovered patients, but also for their families, neighbors, friends and frontline health workers, explains Jin Dongyan of the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hong Kong.

"It is unscientific to think that people who have been infected by the virus will continue to carry it and be infectious long after they recover."he tells AFP.

"Due to lack of knowledge, some fear that those who have been infected are more likely to be reinfected, but in fact, the opposite is true"Add.

Zuo is in a legal battle with his former employer, which has refused to pay his salary since he fell ill and cites his medical history as the reason for not allowing him to return to work.

This service company called Shanghai Yuanmao BPO declined to speak due to the court case.

"Treated like a virus"

He Yuxiu is a Chinese social media influencer who uses a pseudonym and lived in Ukraine before the Russian invasion.

She fled the war and returned home, found a job as a Russian teacher in the northern province of Hebei, and was relieved to put her problems behind her.

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But when her school found out she had Covid-19 in Ukraine, they fired her.

"I never imagined that I would lose my first job for this reason"he said on the Chinese social network Weibo. "Why should we be treated like a virus when we have defeated it?"he wondered.

The stigma is well spread: job advertisements for a factory in Shanghai published last month warned that candidates with a history of covid-19 would be rejected.

Last month, the story of a young woman who lived for weeks in Shanghai’s Hongqiao train station because she couldn’t find a job or return to her village because of the stigma of having been infected, went viral.

And a theater in the southern city of Foshan had to issue a public apology after an announcement barring recovered patients from entering.

"It haunts us like a shadow"

The National Health Commission and the Human Resources Ministry last month banned employers from discriminating against recovered Covid patients, and Premier Li Keqiang called for harsh punishments for those who fail to comply.

But job seekers and activists are skeptical.

Factories in Shanghai are still refusing to hire recovered workers even after the city announced strict anti-discrimination laws because they fear a mass outbreak or health inspections, employment agent Wang Tao said.

"Various factories have given different excuses despite being short-staffed"Wong said. "But all those who have been rejected have tested positive in the past."he added.

AFP has contacted eight manufacturers named by Chinese state media for engaging in discriminatory practices, including iPhone maker Foxconn. They all declined to speak.

"It is very difficult for workers to protect their rights since most employers offer different excuses and it is difficult to prove that the labor law has been violated in these cases."says Aidan Chau, a researcher at the rights group China Labor Bulletin.

"It is important that the unions intervene. But many small and medium-sized companies don’t have"Add.

The infected are often nicknamed "little sheep" on social networks. In Mandarin, the words "positive" Y "sheep" they have the same pronunciation.

"It is very difficult for recovered patients to return to our normal lives"says Zuo, the cleaning lady from Shanghai. "No matter where we go, our history of infection follows us like a dark shadow.".

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