A Chinese student at Newcastle University has reportedly said they were "spat at" in the street after the coronavirus outbreak.
A report by BBC Look North found that the Chinese community in the North East was being hit by fears of the virus which originated in Wuhan in December.
Business owners reported a drop in takings as people are "afraid to have any contact with the Chinese".
They also said that a student in Newcastle reported being "spat at" in the street.
In another shocking incident, a student claims they were told to "go away" by a fellow student as they tried to enter a library on the Newcastle University campus.
The discrimination aimed at Chinese students has already been condemned by Newcastle University's Vice Chancellor Chris Day.
Professor Day urged Newcastle University's staff and students to "come together to support our Chinese colleagues and students during this distressing time".
He said: "I have been appalled by some alarming reports on social media of racial incidents within the city aimed at our students. The city council and partners across the city are stepping up their response to this and anyone who experiences any kind of discriminatory behaviour should report it to the police."
Chief Inspector Alan Pitchford, of Northumbria Police, said: "We are aware of national reports of increases in hate crime against the Chinese community following the publicity of the coronavirus.
"We have not had any significant increases in hate crime in our region but we have a positive relationship with our Chinese communities and remain in regular contact to offer them advice.
"If there are any reports that they have been verbally or physically abused because of their nationality then we will respond to that robustly and ensure victims have our support.
"Nobody should be targeted for who they are and we would encourage anyone who has fallen victim of a hate crime to get in touch with police so we can identify those responsible."
It was confirmed on Thursday that a third person in the UK has tested positive for the coronavirus and they were believed to be receiving treatment in London.
Two other patients who fell ill in York have continued to receive treatment at the Royal Victoria Infirmary's Infectious Diseases Unit.
The latest figures reported by health authorities in Beijing were 31,161 confirmed cases in mainland China and 636 deaths.
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