111 Africans with Covid-19 in Guangzhou
A TOTAL of 111 African people in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province, have tested positive for Covid-19 by Monday, local authorities said.
Among them, 19 were imported confirmed cases, Chen Zhiying, vicemayor of Guangzhou, said on Monday.
All of them, including asymptomatic cases, were being treated, he said.
A total of 4 553 African people in the metropolis had undergone nucleic acid testing since April 4, Chen said.
“Timely identifying Covid-19 cases, based on proactive screening, is an important measure to ensure the safety of the lives and health of African people, in Guangzhou,” said Tang Xiaoping, director of the Guangzhou municipal health commission.
Chen Yongqiu, deputy chief of the city’s public security bureau, said in the recent epidemic prevention and control work, the isolation and nucleic acid testing measures for Africans, in Guangzhou, fully followed previous measures for Chinese citizens and other foreigners.
“We arranged the same designated hotels and personnel for Africans when they were quarantined, without any racial or national discrimination,” Chen said.
According to the data provided by the city’s health commission, Guangzhou had reported 119 imported Covid-19 cases by Sunday.
Among them, 25 were foreigners and 94 were Chinese.
Of the 25 foreign patients, 19 were from Africa.
China dismissed the allegations levelled by African and US diplomats, that foreigners of African appearance in the city of Guangzhou were being subjected to forceful testing for coronavirus, quarantine and ill treatment.
“We do not have discrimination in China against African brothers,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a Daily News briefing, accusing the US of trying to exploit the issue to harm Beijing’s relations with African nations.
This week, a group of African ambassadors in Beijing wrote to China’s state councillor Wang Yi, drawing attention to the alleged discrimination that Africans were encountering in Guangzhou.
The ambassadors’ note highlighted a number of reported incidents, including that Africans were being ejected from hotels in the middle of the night, having their passports seized, and threatened with revocation of visas, deportation or arrest.
Denying any such discrimination, the foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that China treats all foreigners equally.