‘We’re not the walking dead’: Americans face Covid-19 quarantine stigma

Esther Tebeka (right) standing with her husband Haim Tebeka and daughter Chaya at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California after she and her daughter ended a two-week mandatory quarantine following their evacuation from Wuhan, China. — Haim Tebeka/Reuters

When Esther Tebeka, one of more than 1,000 Americans evacuated from China due to the coronavirus outbreak, ended her 14-day quarantine with no signs of the disease, she thought she could get on with her life.

Instead, she has had people refuse to come near her or cover their faces with surgical masks due to unfounded fears that she is a coronavirus carrier – making her one of a growing number of Americans who report being shunned or shamed after quarantine.