APPLETON - Growing up in an urban area, Christa Zhang never felt wary about being Asian American.

The native St. Louisan moved to Appleton to attend Lawrence University, which she said welcomed her with open arms. She's never felt unsafe in the community despite moving into a far less diverse area than her home city.

It wasn't until the coronavirus outbreak trickled into the local community that she started to feel uneasy about her race.

Remarks by President Donald Trump, public officials and media pundits who made it a point to tie the virus to its origin of Wuhan, China sent Zhang and other Asian Americans into uncertainty about how they might be perceived as a result of the blame.

As reports of racist incidents, attacks and assaults started coming to light across the country in cities like New York and Los Angeles, fear started circulating even further.

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And, if xenophobic incidents are occurring in large metro areas coast to coast, Zhang only fears her being more conspicuous in a smaller city like Appleton may make her a stronger target for any public discomfort.

"It is a predominantly white area," Zhang said.

Zhang said when she has to go out in public, she has a heightened sense of her identity as an Asian American.

"I am afraid that if I appear sick or if I cough in public people around me will have that in the back of their head and it makes me more cautious of every move that I make," Zhang said.

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The coronavirus pandemic has sent the country and world into a spiral of business closures, social distancing and isolation.

The outbreak of the virus began in Wuhan, but how it was started is shrouded in mystery and rumors.

Despite the inconclusive epicenter of the virus, some public officials and pundits have emphasized blame on the Chinese government for the spread of the virus, targeting the communist regime as well as the cultural practices of Chinese residents like going to wet markets.

Trump has repeatedly referred to the virus as the “Chinese virus” in a battle of blame between the U.S. and China.

Chinese officials and propaganda outlets have used disinformation tactics to pass the buck on the virus by spreading a conspiracy theory that the U.S. military had planted the virus in Wuhan, which also heightened pushback from lawmakers to place blame on China.

Claire Zhuang said she feels like even if the connotation is meant to blame the Chinese government, it can unintentionally spread xenophobic feelings.

“I think (Trump) is trying to put the blame on the Chinese government, but what it does is enable anti-Asian sentiment to come forth in the U.S.,” Zhuang said. “I think it sometimes also detracts from what’s really important right now because we’re in the middle of a crisis and for me, I don’t think the origins are really important.”

Since controversy has grown, Trump has taken a different tune agreeing to halt the use of “Chinese virus” to de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and China and suggested he made it into a bigger deal than needed.

On March 23, Trump tweeted: “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States and all around the world. They are amazing and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. We will prevail together!”

Law enforcement officials in Wisconsin have cited an uptick of racially motivated incidents and state officials have spoken out against any acts.

Last week, the University of Wisconsin-Madison condemned chalk messages that were written on a campus sidewalk blaming the virus on China. University leaders took to a virtual town hall to discuss the increasingly hostile climate towards Asian Americans on campus.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul also sent out a statement warning against any racist or xenophobic acts towards Asian Americans living in Wisconsin.

"We must stand together and speak out against racism and xenophobia," Kaul said.

Kaul also cited a Wisconsin state statute that would charge anyone committing a hate crime with a fine up to $10,000 or one year in jail.

The Wausau Police Department put out a statement on Facebook talking about the rise of incidents that were targeting victims based on their race.

"Wausau PD will investigate any incident of hateful conduct toward any member of our community," the post read. "If the investigation reveals a crime was committed, such as disorderly conduct, we will take appropriate enforcement action."

Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin there's been one reported incident of what was believed to be a racially motivated incident. Bliven said they did not make an arrest, but is encouraging people who feel threatened, or are victims of crimes, to report it to the police.

Marathon County Sheriff Scott Parks said there are ongoing investigations of people spitting or coughing on individuals as well as vandalism of homes and businesses of the county's Asian population.

“They are being victimized because misguided individuals have decided to attack them due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is impacting this nation,” Parks wrote in a Facebook post.

Synthia Moua of Appleton said on a recent trip to Florida, she noticed people actively moving away from her family on the train or covering their faces when she walked near them.

Even back home, she said she's cautious about her appearance when she goes out.

"If we’re going to the store, I make sure I don’t go too close to people," Moua said. "(I feel) people don’t want to have eye contact with me because I’m Asian."

Appleton's diversity coordinator Karen Nelson put out a statement urging anybody to report any racist incidents that may be occurring.

Dr. Pam Her of Appleton, who was the city's first diversity coordinator when the position was created in the late 1990s, said she's seen major progress in the city's relationship with minority communities, but some issues still persist.

At first, Her said, there was mistrust in the Asian American community toward the city. But she said times like these really can prove the strength of the trust that's been built.

"Over the years, we’ve built those relationships to a certain level of trust so that we can have cooperation, we can communicate effectively if we need to," Her said. "Although that is the case, we still have a lot of things we need to do to strengthen those relationships. It’s times like these that really test the different things we’ve implemented, the different things we’ve put into place to see if those things are effective or not."

Appleton resident Zer Her said while she hasn't personally experienced it in the community, she worries xenophobic acts may target someone like her mom who doesn't speak English well.

Zer Her believes amid crisis in the country, people should come together, not separate from each other.

"A virus is a virus," Zer Her said. "It can happen to anyone of any race ... We should be asking what are we going to do now instead of focusing on: how did it come to this and how did we get here?"

Contact Mica Soellner at 920-996-7226 or msoellner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @micasoellner.