US Ambassador Kyle McCarter calls coronavirus ‘Wuhan flu’

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Noting that only a fraction of Kenyans are wearing masks and social distancing, the US envoy said no one knows the magnitude of the “Wuhan flu”.

Only a fraction of the wananchi are wearing masks & social distancing! None of us know the magnitude of this Wuhan flu but we must take basic known wise precautions. It is only for a short time. We will come back to Prosperity & a culture of Kenya closeness soon. #USAMarafiki,” the US Ambassador tweeted on April.

When a Twitter user @KOT_Loys pointed out to him that it is Covid-19, not Wuhan flu, McCarter posed, “Are you KOT (Kenyan On Twitter) or WHO (World Health Organization)?”

Only a fraction of the wananchi are wearing masks & social distancing! None of us know the magnitude of this Wuhan flu but we must take basic known wise precautions. It is only for a short time. We will come back to Prosperity & a
culture of Kenya closeness soon. #USAMarafiki pic.twitter.com/Dy3jyRtEbK

— U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman (@USAmbKenya) April 19, 2020

When another user asked when the virus got a new name, which he said sounded derogatory, xenophobic and highly unwelcome, the Ambassador replied, “Origin only!”.

This, however, doesn’t seem to be a creation of the opinionated and outspoken Ambassador McCarter.

On March 25, the Independent reported that ministers of the Group of 7 (G7)  intergovernmental economic group including the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan  were not able to issue a joint statement because the US insisted on calling the coronavirus the “Wuhan Virus.”

“The group was scheduled to meet in Pittsburgh this week, but cancelled its summit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rather than cancel outright, the organisation planned to hold a four hour video conference on Wednesday, but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s insistence on calling the coronavirus the “Wuhan Virus” caused issues for the group,” the Independent wrote.

Germany newspaper Der Spiegel reported the other members of the G7 wanted to use the term ‘Covid-19,’ which is the term the World Health Organisation uses.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” during a news conference, ignoring criticism that it is racist.

“It’s not racist at all,” Trump said, explaining his reasoning after a reporter told him many consider it racist. “It comes from China, that’s why.”

China experts argue that labelling the virus this way will only increase tensions between the two countries and encourage xenophobia.

But responding to a White House corresponded about racist concerns, Trump said, “No, not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent. It comes from China.”

But on March 24, Trump  announced that he would henceforth  stop associating the novel coronavirus with China, which he had previously done by calling it the “China virus” or the “Chinese virus.”