"Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at…

The 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak created fear in many people whenever someone coughed. A saying was posted on Twitter by Dani Beck on March 4, 2020:

“Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports.”

That is, coughing in public creates as much fear as hearing Arabic spoken at an airport (and believing that a terrorist act is about to occur).

Wikipedia: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
The 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak is an ongoing global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China on 1 December 2019, spreading to every province-level administrative division of the country by 29 January 2020. On 30 January, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern following an increase in the number of cases outside China.

Twitter
Dani Beck
@_DaniBeck
Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports.
6:45 PM · Mar 4, 2020·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Илия, следуй за мной. СЕЙЧАС!
@GuysItsNate
coughing is the new speaking arabic at airports
12:03 PM · Mar 6, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Yuri
@YuriFromDDLC
Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports
2:47 PM · Mar 6, 2020·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Shadow
@ShadowDrunken
Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports. I can do both.
8:14 AM · Mar 7, 2020·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Hamad
@Alsunaid_
Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at an airport
6:15 PM · Mar 8, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Brohamed 𓂀
@justaMoement
Coughing and sneezing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports
2:32 PM · Mar 12, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Mhamad
@boimeetsworlld
Coughing in public is the new speaking arabic at airports
9:17 PM · Mar 17, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Reddit—Oneliners
Posted by u/SpecialSauceSal March 21, 2020
Coughing has finally overtaken speaking Arabic as the most taboo thing to do in an airport.

“Coughing in public is the new speaking Arabic at airports”