Dr Zhou* had just arrived at Gatwick airport last week when a British couple physically recoiled as she entered a lift. “The woman looked at me, quickly turned to her husband and told him ‘they should wear their masks’,” she said. “They assumed I didn’t understand English, that I was ‘fresh off the boat’ and that I probably had coronavirus.” Humiliated, Zhou – a scientist who was travelling from London to Slovenia – stood in uncomfortable silence.

“I give people the benefit of doubt because they’re scared, but why can’t they give me the benefit of doubt? Fear is no reason to be racist. Statistically, as a British citizen who hasn’t been to China in two years, I have the same risk level as a white person.”

Coronavirus has spread to at least 16 countries including Japan, Thailand, Australia, France, the US and the UK. Hostility and racism directed by some people towards east Asians seems to be spreading faster still.

Jess Kerntiff, who works in PR, said she was stunned when a friend sent her a viral Instagram post of “bat soup” falsely purporting to be a Chinese dish while making bogus claims that Chinese culture is to blame for coronavirus. “She kept asking me if I’d eaten it, what was the weirdest thing I’d eaten and so on. When I said, ‘I don’t know, crab or something’, she kept asking me what weird things people eat in Malaysia, which is where my family are from.”

Kerntiff said she couldn’t quite articulate at the time why it was upsetting. “It bothered me though, she’s a really good friend and I explained to her after a couple of days and then she got it, but posts like that deliberately dehumanise Chinese people. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid but there doesn’t seem to be much sympathy for people who have lost their lives and are going through this trauma, the narrative is as if it’s deserved. There is no compassion.”

The French media have already called it yellow peril – as if there isn’t a bigger threat from parents who won’t vaccinate their kids British-Chinese woman

London’s Chinatown was uncharacteristically quiet last week, with businesses reporting a slump in trade. “The restaurants are less busy than normal,” confirmed one manager. “You think, maybe it is the weather and people think it’s too cold and rainy to come out. But maybe it’s because people believe fake news and are scared [of] eating Asian food.”

One British-Chinese woman, who didn’t want to give her name, said she felt anxious travelling on public transport. “People have openly moved away from me on the train. Fear for me is having half my family in quarantine in Wuhan – the hysterical fear that many in western countries have is quite insulting to me.”

She was in daily contact with relatives in the Hubei province, who reported feeling well. “My parents here are not as panicked as some of the people I’ve encountered on Twitter and in real life,” she said. “The virus is being weaponised as a way to be openly racist – the French media have already called it “yellow peril” – as if there isn’t a bigger health threat from parents who won’t vaccinate their kids.”

The number of Chinese students at UK universities dwarfs those from other countries; in the 2016-17 academic year, there were 95,090 Chinese undergraduates and postgraduates in Britain. By comparison, the second-biggest international cohort is made up of 17,580 students from the US.

At the Central Saint Martins campus, part of the University of the Arts London (UAL), the mood was muted. “Our focus is to keep calm and carry on and avidly watch official guidance,” said Julie Dark, associate director of communications. “Panic is high but the risk is low, and we’re supporting students who are worried.”

The standup comedian Ken Cheng, who encounters racial abuse frequently online, said he was not surprised at how the virus was exposing deeper prejudices. “There’s been a bit of tension” travelling on public transport, he said, but he was more concerned by how normalised anti-Chinese sentiment is. “Around Chinese people, there has always been a thing where people think they can say whatever they want in a way they don’t about other races, so you see all this stuff at the moment about all Chinese culture and people being dirty and barbaric, as if that’s fair game.”

Cheng was circumspect about why this might be but wanted to point out that he was as anxious about the virus as the next person. “Maybe it’s because we have a more submissive culture, we’re not very aggressive and don’t get into fights. Maybe we’re just stoic. At the moment, the risk [of catching the virus] seems very low. For a major outbreak, it doesn’t seem too bad. It’s not a disaster movie.”

*Some names have been changed