The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has warned that the novel coronavirus is driving discrimination towards vulnerable communities in Asia, including migrants and foreigners.

The humanitarian agency surveyed 5,000 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan and found about half blamed a specific group for spreading the coronavirus, with many mentioning Chinese people, immigrants and foreigners.

“It is particularly concerning that both national migrant and foreign workers are blamed for the spread of Covid-19 as they are quite vulnerable already,” Dr Viviane Fluck, one of the lead researchers, told Reuters.

She said there should be more focus on combating “rumors that are linked to underlying power dynamics and structural issues of inequality”.