Atatimewhenthewholecountryismobilizedtofightthenovelcoronavirusandthepneumoniaithascaused,someunwantedsituationshaveoccurred.
Onsocialnetworks,someunreasonablevoiceshavetargetedWuhan,wherethediseasewasfirstfound,as"evil"andbadmouthedpeoplefromthecityandevenHubeiprovinceasawhole.
InmorethanonecitytherewerereportsaboutpeopleathotelsrefusingtoacceptguestsfromHubei.Sometravelersfromtheprovincecomplainedthattheyhadnowheretostay,whilecertainhospitalsdidn'tacceptthemwhentheyhadotherdiseases,obviouslyfearingthattheymightcarrythenovelcoronavirus.
Facingthethreatofapreviouslyunknownvirus,itisunderstandableforpeopletotakesomeself-protectionmeasures.However,neitherbadmouthingHubeinorrefusingtravelersfromtheprovinceisagoodmeasure.That'sonlyregionaldiscriminationcausedbypanic.Andthatpanichelpslittletopreventthespreadofthevirus.
WherecantheHubeitravelersstayinacityfarawayfromhome?Theycouldhavestayedinahotelroomaseveryoneelseisdoingandhelptocurbthespreadofthecoronavirus,butwhenallhotelsrefusethem,theymighthavenootherchoicethanthelongchairsofshoppingmallsorbuses.Ifanyofthemreallycarriedthecoronavirusaspeoplefeared,thatwouldonlyhelpthevirusinfectmorepeople.
Itistimelocalgovernmentsdidtheirjob.Ofcourse,itwouldbeunwiseforthemtosimplyissueanadministrativeorderrequiringallhotelstoacceptpeoplefromHubei,whichmightarousemorepanic.
AbetterchoiceforthemistoarrangesomehotelstospecificallyserveguestsfromHubei,andappointsomemedicalagenciestotreatthemifanyarefoundill.Inthatway,travelersfromHubeiwillgetaplacetostay,whilelocalresidentsofotherplacescanavoidpanic.
That'salsoinaccordancewiththelaw.TheRegulationonEmergentPublicHealthIncidentshasauthorizedprovincial-levelgovernmentstotaketheirownmeasuresincaseofmajorpublichealthincidents,whiletheplansannouncedbyallprovincial-levelgovernmentsincludestricterquarantinemeasuresatkeytransportpoints,plustheauthoritytoallocateresourcestomeetpeople'sdemands.
OnMonday,YunnanprovincetooktheleadbyarrangingatleastonehotelineachcityforHubeitravelers.Guilincity,intheGuangxiZhuangautonomousregion,tookasimilarmeasure.
Itishopedthatotherprovincesandcitieswillfollowsuitsoon.Thecoronavirusisstillspreading,anditisessentialforpeopletostayunitedagainstthiscommonenemy,insteadofscoldingeachother.