Chinese people in western countries where there have been cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have said they have been the target of racist abuse as paranoia mounts over the outbreak.

In Italy, the European country with the highest annual number of Chinese tourists, the confirmation of two confirmed cases – a couple who arrived in Milan from Wuhan on 23 January on a lunar new year holiday – coincided with incidents of xenophobia and calls to avoid Chinese restaurants and shops.

Roberto Giuliani, the director of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, one of the oldest music institutes in the world, was criticised by colleagues on Wednesday after telling students from China, Japan and South Korea not to come to class until after a doctor had visited their homes to ensure they have not contracted the virus.

La Repubblica published a photograph on its website showing a cafe near the Trevi fountain in Rome with a sign outside saying “all people coming from China” were barred from entering.

More than 300,000 Chinese people live in Italy and 5 million visited in 2018.

“Unfortunately, one of the inevitable impacts of this illness is xenophobia,” Marco Wong, a local councillor in the Tuscan town of Prato, home to a large Chinese population, told the Guardian.

“Parents aren’t sending their children to school if there are Chinese classmates and people are writing on the internet not to go to Chinese shops and restaurants. There is also a lot of fake news spreading – for example, an audio of an Italian guy claiming that he is in Wuhan and that he knows of a secret laboratory where this virus was created.”

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Fears over the coronavirus have affected Chinese populations in other countries, too. On Wednesday, the mayor of Toronto condemned racism against Chinese-Canadians, and there have also been reports of anti-Asian racism in the UK.

In France, Chinese residents have been sharing their experiences using the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (I am not a virus). One young woman calling herself Forky wrote on Twitter: “Not all Asians are Chinese. Not all Chinese were born in China and not all have been there. An Asian who coughs doesn’t have the #coronavirus. Insulting an Asian because of the virus is like insulting a Muslim because of the bombings.”

Quick guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show Hide What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

There has been particular criticism of a front-page headline on the Courrier Picard, a local newspaper: “Alerte Jaune” (Yellow alert).

One man told France TV he had been approached while buying vegetables in a supermarket in Strasbourg by a woman who demanded what nationality he was and “if I had the virus”. He added: “I wouldn’t say what happened was racist, but it was a strong prejudice.”

Sacha-Lin Jung, a representative of the Association of Chinese Residents in France, told BFMTV: “People are refusing to be served by Asian people in shops … a woman was thrown off a train because she was Asian and so it was obvious she was carrying the virus. This adds to the racism and stereotypes about the Chinese that already exist.”

On Friday, Italy declared a state of emergency that will be in place for six months. It will spend an initial €5m on trying to prevent the spread of the virus.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League, seized on the panic to plug his anti-immigration message and attack rivals in government. “Every day dozens of flights arrive in Italy from China: we need checks, checks and more checks,” he said.

Other episodes reported in Italian media include two Chinese tourists being spat at by a group of children in Venice, and three Chinese tourists being insulted in a restaurant in Turin.

One tourist was reportedly prevented from entering Pompeii’s archaeological park, another was insulted on a train, and a Chinese boy playing in a football match near Milan was told by an opponent: “I hope you get the virus too.”

There have been long queues in chemists across the country to purchase face masks. Roberta Siliquini, a former president of Italy’s higher health council, told the Guardian the paranoia was unsurprising even if it went “beyond logical sense”.

“In Italy, we have a strange relationship with immigration but also with health aspects – it’s a country in which people don’t want to be vaccinated against measles but they are scared of a Chinese person standing 50 metres away,” she said. “And while it is very possible that we could import cases of this virus, we have one of the most efficient control systems in the world.”

Tests carried out on two Chinese tourists onboard a cruise ship in the port city of Civitavecchia were negative, the cruise company, Costa Crociere, said in a statement.

• This article was amended on 31 January 2020 because an earlier version understated the number of Chinese people living in Italy. That figure is more than 300,000, not more than 30,000 as an earlier version said.