Chris Smith: Let’s all be washing our hands and watching our attitude when it comes to coronavirus

These days when Nancy Wang sneezes, folks notice.

“People will look at me because I’m Chinese,” she said. The Santa Rosa resident’s conversations with other Asian Americans have her believing that amid the coronavirus scare, anyone who looks Chinese is subject to being viewed with alarm.

Wang, president of the Redwood Empire Chinese Association, isn’t terribly surprised or offended. The Taiwan-born, 43-year resident of Sonoma County understands that people fear contracting the virus that has killed more than 2,300 since it appeared in China’s Hubei province in early December.

“I know that right now people panic,” she said.

While she understands why anyone might recoil upon witnessing a sneeze or sniffle by someone who looks to be Chinese, she hopes we’ll all guard against looking down upon or profiling or in any way discriminating against such people.

“I’m concerned,” she said. “People have to remember we’re all the same. We’re all citizens here.”

Clearly, here in the North Bay and North Coast, the potential pandemic isn’t causing the sort of trouble that’s occurring in urban areas with Chinatowns and large numbers of people of Asian heritage.

You’ve seen, no doubt, that restaurants in the Chinatowns in San Francisco and Oakland and elsewhere report that business is down dramatically. With quarantines in China and people around the world avoiding anyone viewed as even remotely connected to that country, the impacts of the health scare are huge.

Nancy Wang says there certainly were people who, because of concerns about the COVID-19 virus, changed their plans to attend the Redwood Empire Chinese Association’s New Year’s celebration on Feb. 1 at the Santa Rosa Vets’ Building.

Wang said a smaller crowd than usual had a grand time. To put guests at ease and take reasonable precautions, she provided at the Year of the Rat celebration liberal amounts of hand sanitizer.

“Right now I carry it with me and constantly wash my hands,” she said.

She asks that as we take care not to be infected, we be mindful of how our stares and fears might affect others.

HHHHHH

A CHILD ARRIVED in my wife, Diane’s life and mine almost 30 years ago. Occasionally I wrote in my column at the time, “Must Be Friday,” about Max and the grand adventure of parenthood.

OK, OK. I wrote about being a dad and about my kid, Max, more often than occasionally. Often enough to be told by higher-ups here at the PD to write about something, anything else.

I couldn’t tell you when I last wrote about Max, who was born in June of 1990 at Community Hospital and graduated in 2008 from Montgomery High. It’s been a long time.

Now and again someone who recalls - favorably! - those columns following his birth will ask about him. Please pardon this update from a proud dad.

Last year Max completed almost eight years of college interspersed with work and travel. Aware always that he wants to be of help to people, he’ll soon start his career as a doctor of physical therapy.

That’s it, editors. I know you had your fill of columns from me about fathership and my son, and I am done.

But if grandkids happen, watch out.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.