world

Updated: Apr 11, 2020 20:36 IST

The US embassy in China issued a security alert on Saturday for African-Americans living and working in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou after several reports said members of the large black community in the city were being targeted and harassed amid Covid-19 fears.

Diplomats from several African countries have also taken up the matter of their citizens being harassed with the Chinese embassies.

Reports of Africans being targeted in Guangzhou comes in the backdrop of rising number of imported Covid-19 cases in China.

On Saturday, health authorities said it had received reports of 46 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Friday, of which 42 were imported.

Three deaths, all in Hubei, and eight new suspected cases, all imported ones, were reported Friday on the mainland.

As of Friday, the mainland had reported a total of 1,183 imported cases, the national health commission (NHC) said Saturday in its daily report.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,953 by Friday with 3,339 deaths.

The US Embassy security alert on Saturday said that “police ordered bars and restaurants not to serve clients who appear to be of African origin” and local officials have launched mandatory testing and self-quarantine for “anyone with ‘African contacts.’”

That’s in response to a rise in virus infections in Guangzhou, the US said, adding that “African-Americans have also reported that some businesses and hotels refuse to do business with them.”

According to CNN, which said it interviewed more than two dozen Africans living in Guangzhou, many had been left without a home, being subject to random testing for Covid-19, and being quarantined for 14 days in their homes, despite having no symptoms or contact with known patients.

There are about 80,000 foreign nationals living in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s industrial powerhouse Guangdong province.

According to official numbers, there were 15,000 Africans living in the city. However, thousands more travel in and out of the city. Egypt, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the major sources of African expatriates. Most are engaged in trade or study in the city.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday told reporters that China’s most urgent task is to prevent “overseas imports” of the virus but acknowledged that “there might be some misunderstandings in the implementation of measures.”

China treats all foreigners equally, Zhao said.