(3 minutes read)
· As corona virus scare is deepening in China and the number of
death tolls has reported to have crossed 200, several African
countries have upped their preparedness to face the challenges of the
epidemic.
· In 2018 African students numbered more than 80,000, according
to China’s education ministry. Of these, more than 4,000 are estimated
to be in Wuhan alone.
As corona virus scare is deepening in China and the number of death
tolls has reported to have crossed 200, several African countries have
upped their preparedness to face the challenges of the epidemic. The
measures being taken by the African countries include screening of
travelers from China at airports, issuing travel advisories to the
citizens not to travel to China till further orders and reviewing visa
issuance terms. These measures, it is reported, are yielding results
and people are cooperating with the government authorities.
China hosts a number of people from African continent either as
students, diplomats, traders etc. In the midst of the challenging
situation that China is facing, the country has given various options
to the expatriates, such as evacuation and collaboration, depending
on the needs of the people stay put in China. These have been
exercised differently from nation to nation. Significantly, Africans
now make up the second-largest population of foreign students in
China, behind those from Asia. In 2018, African students numbered more
than 80,000, according to China’s education ministry. Of these, more
than 4,000 are estimated to be in Wuhan alone.
www.trendnafrica.com has collated data from different sources to put
together the level of preparedness of some of the African countries.
As reported earlier in one of our dispatches, Ethiopia ‘s Bole
International Airport in Addis Ababa is the leading gateway to Africa,
has tested four suspected cases of the corona virus. Although, these
four have been tested negative, Ethiopia has upped its level of
preparedness and the quarantine facilities at Bole airport have been
revamped to accommodate more people, who may have to be quarantined.
Ethiopian Airlines said it would still operate its regular flights to
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong in China.
Botswana’s government has instructed its embassy in China to maintain
continuous contact with students in Wuhan City using Web Chat platform
and emergency hotline number, while Kenyan authorities have opted not
to evacuate their citizens from China since they feel that China is
in a better position to contain the virus. However, it is keeping
track of the whereabouts of the students constantly
Kenya’s health secretary announced that results of a suspected case
had tested negative. In the meantime, the Kenya Airways suspended all
flights to and from China, as a precautionary measure. RwandAir, Air
Madagascar, Air Mauritius and Royal Air Marco have also suspended
their flights to and from mainland China.
South Africa, despite having better health infrastructure has decided
that it would not evacuate citizens and told students hailing from
the country in China to adhere to university instructions, warnings
that leaving without permission “can have far-reaching consequences.”
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ordered to repatriate 100 nationals
from Wuhan. Mozambique temporarily suspended the issuance of visas on
arrival for travelers from China, as one of the measures to prevent
the spread of the corona virus. President of Algeria’s Abdelmadjid
Tebboune, ordered the “immediate” repatriation of 36 citizens in
Wuhan, most of them students.
