The ambassador of Ghana to China, His Excellence Edward Boateng has disclosed that no visa has been issued to Ghana ever since news of the corona virus broke.
According to the diplomat, all offices and public institutions have been shut down following the outbreak of the virus.
When asked in an interview on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben if any precautionary measures had been put in place against Chinese nationals travelling to Ghana he said, “From last week Thursday, all offices in China have been closed and we have not issued any visa. We are also monitoring the situation so if we believe that it is in our national interest not to issue any visa we will make that recommendation to the government.”
He was however quick to add that the government has not reached that point of suspending visas to Ghana from China. He also asked Ghanaians to have faith is our system because we are equipped to tackle such a situation. “I believe this is not the first time we are tackling something like this. We dealt with Ebola which was right at our doorsteps but we managed it very successfully. Some of precautions China has implemented or is implementing has already taken effect in Ghana at the airport. So just have to tighten our checks at the border.”
The ambassador recommended that everyone coming back to Ghana from overseas goes through a screening process before being allowed entry into the country. “Whether you are a Ghanaian, Chinese or you’ve been to China within this period and have been to Wuhan especially, we have to make sure they are not infected.”
After the outbreak of the corona virus, the Chinese government stopped businesses from returning to work for the time being. The ban applies to all companies apart from utilities, medical firms, medical suppliers, and supermarkets.
China’s New Year holidays has been extended. After the pre-new year travel surge, the prospect of half a billion people getting back on trains, planes and buses and criss-crossing the country again is the last thing the government wants.
Background
A new coronavirus was identified in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, after people developed pneumonia without a clear cause and for which existing vaccines or treatments were not effective.
The virus has shown evidence of human-to-human transmission and its transmission rate appeared to escalate in mid-January 2020 with several countries other than China reporting cases. The incubation period of the virus is between 2 and 14 days and it remains contagious during this time.
Symptoms include fever, coughing and breathing difficulties and it can be fatal. Confirmed cases have been reported by several countries across Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America. The first confirmed death from the coronavirus infection occurred on January 9. As of January 27, 2020, approximately 4,600 cases and 106 deaths have been confirmed.
By: Joel Sanco
