The National Union of Ghana students in China (NUGS-China) would like to assure all Ghanaian stakeholders (Parents, guardians and loved ones) that all Ghanaian students in China are safe in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The virus, originating from a seafood market in Wuhan in the Hubei province of China, has so far killed about 26 people and hospitalized more than 800 in less than a week. According to the CGTN (China Global Television Network) midday live report on Friday (January 24, 2020), the number of confirmed global cases as at 12pm, local time in mainland-China stands at 876. This disease confirmed as a seventh coronavirus infection is said to have some similarities as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which claimed the lives of some 774 people in China in 2002.
With its highly contagious and infectious nature through droplets, breathing and personal contact with an infected person, a lot of people have been left in perplexity, including parents and guardians of international students in China.
Being aware of the state of distress that relatives might be in at the moment, NUGS-China would like to reiterate that, so far none of the 256 Ghanaian students in Wuhan City, nor the over 6400 Ghanaian students in China have been infected. We will hasten to add that, all reported and suspected cases are related to the local Chinese people.
As we speak, prompt alerts are being circulated amongst all Ghanaian students to caution them to avoid crowded places, wear nose masks, and have sanitizers or disinfectants readily available as preventive measures from the infection. The Embassy of Ghana is also doing tremendous work on educating all Ghanaian students on the disease and how to better protect themselves from its infection.
To help provide essential needs to some of our members who find themselves in very tight corners in this unfortunate circumstance with the lockdown in their areas, the NEC, through the welfare committee has committed a fund of RMB 5000 to help meet some of these needs. Members are therefore entreated to contact their chapter leadership for the details.
Also, we gladly welcome individuals, who are moved to assist our brethren in this very time.
We would advise all stakeholders and every Ghanaian student alike to cooperate with us to ensure calmness and comfort. We also encourage all to adhere to the preventive measures put in place to ensure continued good health.
Felix Gyawu Addo
National President
NUGS-China
