‘Bat Fried Rice’ Shirt Pulled From Lululemon, Company Issues Apology

Lululemon pulled their “Bat Friend Rice” shirt that the public called racist toward Asian cultures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This pandemic has caused many to target Asians around the world. Racist and xenophobic remarks have been pelted at Asians due to the COVID-19 pandemic that reportedly began in Wuhan, China. Reports have surfaced that verbal and physical attacks have occurred in Australia, various parts of Europe, and throughout the United States—just to name a few. Actress Karrueche Tran, along with many other celebrities, came forward to speak out against racism against Asians and Asian cultures during this time. However, athletic clothing brand Lululemon missed the memo and came under fire for creating a “Bat Friend Rice” shirt.

According to USA Today, Trevor Fleming, the Global Art Director at Lululemon, shared a link to the $60 top over the weekend. The white, longsleeved shirt was designed by California artist Jess Sluder and featured an image of a Chinese food takeout container with batwings. The words “No Thank You” were printed on the container and alongside the arms. The image perpetuates the story that a man who ate bat soup in Wuhan, China is responsible for spreading coronavirus among humans.

“At lululemon, our culture and values are core to who we are, and we take matters like this extremely seriously,” Lululemon spokeswoman Erin Hankinson told USA Today in a statement. “We apologize that an employee was affiliated with promoting an offensive t-shirt… The image and the post were inappropriate and inexcusable and we do not tolerate this behavior.” They added, “We acted immediately, and the person involved is no longer an employee of lululemon.” It’s unclear if the artist or the persons who approved the design were let go.

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Coronavirus Death Toll In Wuhan, China Increases By 50% After Revision

Chinese officials have revised the numbers of coronavirus deaths in Wuhan, adding 1,290 new deaths to the already reported 2,579.

After revising the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Wuhan, Chinese officials raised the amount of fatalities in the virus’ origin city from 2,579 to 3,869 deaths. Wuhan also reported a revised total of 50,333 confirmed cases, after adding 325 new cases to their records. Officials published their revisions of Wuhan’s figures only after China’s National Health Commission had already reported a total of 3,342 deaths across the nation. The revisions in Wuhan were made because early reports did not accurately represent the real number of cases and related deaths.

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These 1,290 added deaths were not initially included because the early stages of the pandemic saw some patients dying at home, and overwhelmed health care workers were more focused on treating cases and saving lives rather than reporting deaths. These revisions are intended to show “accountability to history, to the people and the victims,” as well as to ensure “open and transparent disclosure of information and data accuracy.” China had previously altered the way cases were officially logged into the system three separate times earlier in the year, creating unnecessary confusion about the severity of the crisis in the country. There were also concerns from experts about the exclusion of patients from official recorded cases who had tested positive but did not show symptoms.

Coronavirus "Patient Zero" Explains How She Contracted COVID-19

A woman believed to be the first person to ever test positive for COVID-19 in Wuhan, China speaks out for the first time.

Imagine being the first-ever person to have contracted the novel coronavirus, which has spread across the planet, infecting over half a million people and killing more than 25,000. How do you think they’re feeling about all this?

“Patient Zero” has reportedly been identified as Wei Guixian, a 57-year-old shrimp vendor in the Huanan Market in Wuhan, China. She was among the first twenty-seven people to have ever tested positive for the virus, and is believed to be “patient zero.” For the first time, she is speaking out about her own experience with coronavirus the Wall Street Journal.

“I felt a bit tired, but not as tired as previous years. Every winter, I always suffer from the flu. So I thought it was the flu,” said Wei.

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She went to a local clinic where she received treatment for the flu before returning to work, effectively beginning the outbreak that has shut down the entire world. Her symptoms worsened before she decided to go to the hospital, where doctors could not figure out what was wrong. On December 16, she visited another hospital where it was determined that she was among many to have contracted the “ruthless” illness. Before finally being placed in quarantine, doctors determined that twenty-four of the twenty-seven cases they had seen came from the seafood market, also realizing that Wei was likely “patient zero.”

She believes that she came into contact with the virus a shared toilet with wild meat sellers. Wei has since made a full recovery from COVID-19.

In other coronavirus news, the United States officially has more confirmed cases than Italy and China.

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France Reports First Coronavirus Death Outside Of Asia

French officials have confirmed the first death outside of Asia caused by the Coronavirus.

France has confirmed the first Coronavirus-related death outside of Asia, according to The Hill.

French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn says the 80-year-old tourist traveled from China's Hubei Province to France in mid-January and was hospitalized days later. The Hubei Province is the epicenter of the disease.

The deceased man's daughter is also infected with the disease; however, doctors believe her condition to be less serious than her father.

As of Saturday, China reports that 66,493 total people have been affected and 1,523 have died.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently spoke at the Munich Security Conference.

“It’s impossible to predict what direction this epidemic will take.

“We’re concerned by the continued increase of the number of cases in China,” he added. “Most of all, we’re concerned about the potential havoc this virus could wreak in countries with weaker health systems. We must use the window of opportunity we have to intensify our preparedness.”

In other Coronavirus-related news, an 83-year-old woman, who was stuck aboard the MS Westerdam for weeks, reportedly has the illness, even though she was cleared to disembark on Friday, according to Bloomberg.

The woman made it to Malaysia before her illness was discovered. She is currently hospitalized.

First US Citizen Dies Of Coronavirus

The Coronavirus is continuing to get worse.

The first United States citizen has died as a result of contracting the Coronavirus, according to The New York Times.

The United States Embassy in Beijing reports the patient was "around 60-years-old," and died on Thursday.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," a spokesperson for the embassy said. "Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment."

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have offered to send a team of experts to China to help with the outbreak. China has not accepted help from either group. Experts tell The New York Times that one reason could be that various aspects of the outbreak may look bad for China.

As of Friday, 34,000 people in 24 countries have been infected with the Coronavirus. 700 people have been killed.

The news comes days after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the whistleblower who warned the world about the Coronavirus. On December 30th, Li warned about the virus online and was subsequently arrested for spreading false rumors. He was forced to sign a document which disavowed his statements. Li died of the virus he tried to warn the world about on Friday morning.

Eighth US Case Of Deadly Coronavirus Found In Boston

The infection grows in the United States.

An eighth case of the Coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States.

A man from Boston, in his 20s, has contracted the virus, according to CNN. The report cites a press release from Boston and Massachusetts health officials. The positive test results were sent to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Boston Public Health Commission, Friday evening.

The man had recently traveled from Wuhan, China. The few people he has come in contact with are being monitored for symptoms.

“Our priority is not only to protect and inform the residents of Boston but also to help this man continue to recover. We are pleased that he is doing well,” Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Rita Nieves said in the release. “Right now, we are not asking Boston residents to do anything differently. The risk to the general public remains low. And we continue to be confident we are in a good position to respond to this developing situation.”

This is the first case of the Coronavirus in Massachusetts. Other states that have confirmed cases include California, Washington state, Arizona and Illinois.

The current death toll sits at 259 reported fatalities. 12,000 people have been infected with the virus globally.

For constant updates, head to CNN.

Third US Case Of Deadly Coronavirus Diagnosed In California

Another case of the deadly disease has been discovered in the United States.

A third case of the Coronavirus has been discovered in the United States.

The new virus that has killed over 50 people in China and infected just under 2000, has been diagnosed in a patient in Orange County, California. The patient had recently traveled from Wuhan, China, a city with a population of 11 million where the disease is most prominent.

"The current risk of local transmission remains low," The Orange County Health Care Agency’s Communicable Disease Control Division said in a statement, according to USAToday. "There is no evidence that person-to-person transmission has occurred in Orange County."

A man from Washinton State and a woman from Illinois are the only other two patients who have been diagnosed from the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe Coronavirus' as, "a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals, including camels, cats and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with MERS and SARS."

They also say that the CDC is, "closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (termed “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and which continues to expand."

For more information from the CDC, click here.