But there was also a focus on the callousness and inhumanity of Chinese culture, which allowed this epidemic to turn into a pandemic. News outlets reported that the government initially covered-up the severity of the epidemic, describing a government more intent on good PR than the welfare of its people. The unforgiving quarantines and swiftly implemented bans on travel, traffic, and assembly were only possible with authoritarian muscle and “questionable” ethics that seemed to further hurt already sick people, forcing them to walk for miles in order to seek out care. Even the state request that people stay indoors with their own loved ones had become a problem, as self-quarantines were leading to cross-generational infections among family members . Western outlets ogled the run on surgical masks. Technically ineffective , they suggested that no one should be wearing them, nevermind that masks were already as common an accessory in China as headphones or sunglasses, and seen as a courtesy — a polite gesture — to your fellow commuter. Instead of a polite gesture by your fellow commuter, the mask communicated something evil , inciting hate crimes against Asian American in NYC.