66% people in UP blame Muslim populations for spread of Covid-19: Report

New Delhi, 18 May 2021 [Fik/News Sources]: 66 percent people in Uttar Pradesh believe that the spread of Covid-19 is caused by Muslim populations while 93 per cent people blames ”foreigners” for the pandemic, according to a survey conducted in 2020.

Professor Asad Islam, Director of the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability in the Monash Business School, asked 2,138 people across 40 neighbourhoods in Uttar Pradesh what they thought about the rise in COVID cases. It is important to note that this work was done in 2020, but the research team believe it still rings true of current stigmas that may be impacting how people react to the pandemic.

Professor Islam found that 93% of participants believed that foreigners were responsible for the ongoing disaster, with a further 66% blaming Muslim populations for the spread of COVID.

A substantial 34% of participants said that they blamed healthcare workers for failing to contain the spread of COVID, while a further 29% blamed law enforcement agencies for the same reason.

(With inputs from Open Access Government)