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Officials Warn Of Fake Report About Coronavirus In Carson
L.A County Supervisor Hilda Solis speaking at a press conference about coronavirus (Caroline Champlin/LAist) LAist
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis warned today of a forged document circulating on social media that suggested a case of coronavirus had been identified in Carson.
Speaking at a press conference in San Gabriel, she said the document warned people to stay away from certain Asian supermarkets and Panda Express.
What was particularly worrying, she said, was that the official logos of LA County, the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been used in the document.
Things like this, she said, “just add to the hysteria.”
She reiterated that people should call the LA County Department of Public Health at 211 to find out what’s true and what’s not.
“This is an area with a large number of Asian Pacific islanders and it was meant to instill fear. I know, being an immigrant also, when people discriminate against you because of stereotypes ...about your race and ehtnicity and culture.”
Los Angeles County health officials say the risk of transmission is low, and that there's no need to cancel large group events—like Alhambra’s Lunar New Year Festival, which was postponed today.
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“We don’t want people to be alarmed. We want people to have their regular daily life, like Lunar New Year," said Solis. "Go out, celebrate. There’s a big activity in Chinatown on Saturday. We haven’t seen anything to report differently, and when we do, we’ll let people know.”
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