While its unclear when theyll be able to go back to their apartments, Africans in Guangzhou can at least find refuge again in McDonalds.





McDonalds China has confirmed that an African man was indeed given a notice telling him that he was not allowed to enter one of their locations in Guangzhou when he came in to buy himself a meal.





A video of the incident had earlier gone viral on social media over the weekend, sparking outrage around the world.





In a statement sent to Shanghaiist, the company apologized for the incident, said that it had ordered the restaurant to stop immediately such actions, and explained that it had closed the location for half the day on Sunday to conduct training programs on Diversity and Inclusion.





A mandatory training for all McDonalds China employees and crew members is also in progress to ensure those values will be implemented and such an occurrence will be prevented from happening again, the statement added.





Currently, all customers are welcome to all our restaurants after body temperature check-up with health QR code issued by the local government.

The companys statement did not explain the source of the notice. It read:



Weve been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant. For the sake of your health consciously notify the local police for medical isolation, please understand the inconvenience caused. police TEL:110





Amid online reports of Africans in Guangzhou being kicked out of their apartments and hotel rooms and being turned away from restaurants, convenience stores, and other retail shops over renewed coronavirus fears,

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sought to quell the anger, declaring on Sunday that Chinese people and African people are partners and brothers through thick and thin and that the China-Africa friendship is deeply-rooted and unbreakable.





I

f you are in Guangzhou and would like to send Shanghaiist a tip, email us at [email protected]




















