China has on Monday reported the highest number of new Coronavirus cases in nearly six weeks.
This occurred weeks after the nation contained the pandemic and the epicentre of the virus, Wuhan was reopened for business and social activities.
No fewer than 108 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, of which 98 of them are travellers returning from abroad, according to the National Health Commission.
There are concerns about a resurgence of the disease since March 6, when authorities counted 143 new cases.
China now focuses on citizens returning from abroad even as the government had on March 28 banned the entry of foreigners.
State media reported that travellers crossing the border from Russia are spreading the virus in the city of Suifenhe in the north-eastern Heilongjiang province.
New infections are also feared in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, in Guangdong province.
Meanwhile, Africans have reportedly been evicted from their homes and turned away from hotels even without having a travel history.
Videos of evicted Africans, most especially Nigerians have been circulating on the internet, leading to an intervention from the Consul-General of the Nigerian High Commission in China, Mr Anozie Maduabuchi Cyril.
Cyril was seen in a viral video confronting some Chinese officials and retrieving seized passports of Nigerian nationals in Guangzhou.
While retrieving the seized passport, he contended that the documents were property of the Nigerian Government and China had no right to seize them, insisting that no Chinese citizen had been served the same treatment in Nigeria.
On its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Sunday, said that it’s expecting local authorities in Guangzhou to “reject all racist and discriminatory remarks”.
Spokesperson of the Ministry, Zhao Lijian said the time-tested friendship between China and Africa is a treasure for both Chinese and African people.
Since the outbreak in December 2019, China has reported 82,160 Coronavirus cases including 3,341 deaths and 77,663 recovered patients.
