'COVID discrimination' must be rooted out

Even as the country tries to spur its economy back on the normal track, the stigmatizing of those who have been infected with the novel coronavirus has appeared in the job market.

Job recruitment notices issued by local employers in some places such as Shanghai explicitly exclude recovered patients from applying for positions, according to reports. Volunteers who worked at temporary quarantine facilities are also being discriminated against.

Such practices are outrageous. Not only do they rub salt in the wounds of those who have already suffered so much－both physically from symptoms of the illness, and mentally as the result of their going through the stressful experience, from infection to recovery, often isolated from their family members and friends－they are also illegal.