Wuhan flu
English
Alternative forms
- Wu flu (clipping)
Etymology
From Wuhan + flu, q.v., from its presumed origin in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Noun
Wuhan flu (uncountable)
- (informal, sometimes offensive) COVID-19.
- 2020 January 23, Tanyaluk Sakoot, “Chinese Boy in Phuket Cleared of Wuhan Flu”, in Phuket News:
- The 10-year-old Chinese boy confined to isolation at Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday on suspicion of carrying the Wuhan flu has tested negative for the virus and will rejoin his parents today (Jan 23), Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief Thanit Sermkaew has confirmed.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Wuhan flu.
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Usage notes
Particularly in the United States, use of Wuhan flu and similar terms became associated with President Trump and his party's after Trump coined the phrase “China virus” to pin the blame for the spread of COVID19 on the Chinese government. Critics, including the Chinese government, have said these terms were racist, stigmatizing and part of a strategy to minimize the threat posed by the coronavirus.
Related terms
- Wuhan virus, Wuhanvirus, Wuhan coronavirus, China virus, Chinese virus, kung flu