Media in Denmark, in Finland and in Estonia188 reported incidents of persons of Asian origin experiencing prejudice and/or discrimination connected with COVID-19, such as name-calling, inappropriate staring and being avoided. A group of students at Gdansk University in Poland verbally attacked Chinese students for allegedly spreading COVID-19. University authorities initiated disciplinary proceedings against the aggressors.189 The most severe cases of racist incidents involved physical violence. On 8 February, a Filipino waiter in Sardinia (Italy) was assaulted on the bus because he was mistaken for “a Chinese bringing the Coronavirus”. He was taken to hospital suffering from facial injuries.190 In France, a girl of Vietnamese origin was insulted and punched when returning from school, and a young man of Chinese origin was beaten up after leaving a night club.191 In Berlin (Germany) the police reported that two women had racially insulted a Chinese woman and physically attacked her. She was treated in a hospital for head injuries.192 Roma activists in Slovakia shared on social media incidents of hate speech against Roma. For instance, a Roma teacher reported that Roma people waiting in line at post offices are targeted by non-Roma neighbours for alleged abuse of social benefits and for “causing” the COVID-19 outbreak in Slovakia.193 Bias motivated incidents impact not only their direct victims but also the wider community. Evidence collected by the European Network Against Racism indicates that at times of crisis, minorities suffer heightened anxiety, fear and worries about their safety and possibility to access health services.194 In Czechia for example, the chairman of the largest NGO for Czech Vietnamese said that people with a Vietnamese ethnic background are worried that if they contract the virus the medical care they receive will be inferior to that given to ethnic Czechs.195 The Government Human Rights Commissioner assured him that medical care is provided based on need and no other criteria. 3.2 DISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO GOODS AND SERVICES Persons of Asian origin also encountered racial discrimination in accessing to goods and services during the reporting period, including access to health services and education. In early February, the Santa Cecilia conservatory of Rome (Italy) suspended classes for students of Chinese, Korean and Japanese origin until they passed a medical examination as part of preventative quarantine measures.196 In Estonia, a dental clinic suspended the provision of dental care to patients from China. The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner condemned this decision.197 The Federal Antidiscrimination Agency in Germany received complaints about a doctor refusing to treat a patient of Chinese origin who had no COVID-19 symptoms but had recently been to China; a Chinese student who was prevented from renting a flat on the grounds that the owner “did not want to have Coronavirus”; and the owner of a grocery store denying Chinese tourists access to his shop. In Poland, the staff of a wedding dress shop refused to serve two Asian clients.198 The Equality Ombudsman of Sweden reported on a complaint against a restaurant discriminating against persons of Chinese origin.199 34