Advertisement
No racism behind coronavirus protections, China assures African community
- Foreign ministry, Guangzhou mayor and senior police officer say everyone is treated equally after several countries lodge formal protests
- Southern Chinese gateway city’s ‘Little Africa’ community has reported forced evictions and other forms of discrimination linked to virus fears
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
China has sought to assure countries in Africa that their citizens are not being discriminated against despite orders in the southern city of Guangzhou that all Africans spend 14 days in quarantine to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The order has been in place since Thursday and was described by a representative of the city’s Congolese community as extremely disappointing.
Previously only people coming from overseas had been subjected to compulsory quarantine.
Advertisement
The order comes amid concerns of a potential outbreak in the textile hub“Little Africa” district after five Nigerians linked to the same restaurant tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
A Guangzhou official from a department for managing migrants and rental housing in the city said that an urgent order was issued on April 9 that all people from African countries must be quarantined for 14 days, starting from that day, “regardless of their previous circumstances or how long they have been in Guangzhou”.
Advertisement
“If [the African citizens] live in Guangzhou, they can be isolated at home, but we will install a device on their door, and once they open the door, we will be alerted,” he said.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x