Asian Student Asked If He Visited Wuhan Over Break

COLLEGETOWN—In the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic, classmates, friends, and other acquaintances of Bryan Pham ‘21 have all asked about his winter break travel plans. Specifically about his proximity to Wuhan, the capital city of the Hubei province of China and the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I heard on twitter that the Chinese government is underreporting the amount of detected coronavirus cases,” said Janet Manning ‘22, a classmate in Pham’s Friday discussion. “You didn’t go anywhere near there over break, did you, Bryan?”

Despite receiving all of this attention, Pham has never been to China, let alone Wuhan, at any point in his entire life. The Seattle native and and third generation Vietnamese American spent his break at home, hanging out with his parents and sleeping.

“I’m getting a little worried about Bryan; the incubation period for coronavirus is still unknown. He’s a ticking time bomb, and worse yet, he’s not even wearing a mask,” said Pham’s roommate, Nick Alonso ‘21.

At press time, Pham was reportedly minding his own business and avoiding his friends, not because of the risk of infecting them, but because they’re actually really racist.