Ghana’s Ambassador to China, Edward Boateng has called for restraint following concerns that Ghanaians in the Chinese capital, Beijing were allegedly evicted from their apartments over fears they were carrying the Coronavirus disease.
According to him, there have been enough engagements between officials of both countries to find a lasting solution to the unfortunate development.
Last week, reports from China emerged that African communities were a threat to increase spread of coronavirus in that country.
They therefore called on Ghanaian authorities to facilitate their evacuation after they were evicted from their homes for supposed mass testing of Africans for COVID-19.
Speaking on the Eyewitness News, the Ambassador assured that measures are being implemented to address the issue.
“It was the landlords who were leading the evictions, not the authorities. Now, the landlords fear that if the authorities got to know that they had rented to people without legal status, they will be in trouble. And then, communities started telling people who were living in their neighbourhoods that this person also leaves here and the police will turn up. In that process, I must say that maybe some of the authorities then started implementing it in a very harsh manner. There was a backlash from some of the Ambassadors after these videos started going viral.”
“It then came to the attention of the authorities in Beijing so the authorities immediately dispatched a team to Guangzhou to go and find out what was going on. So as we speak, people are in quarantine, people are being taken care of, some of the people who are in their own flats alone were allowed to stay in their flats alone. I have information from some of my colleagues and compatriots in Guangzhou that they have asked to go home. So the situation is settled,” he said.
Soon after, health officials in China began door-to-door testing targeting African immigrants.
Landlords and hotels also began evicting hundreds of Africans.
Some Ghanaians living in the Chinese capital, Beijing were reportedly evicted from their apartments.
