In a note on the situation of Angolans in the face of the new coronavirus, the Angolan diplomatic mission in China said that it is in permanent contact with the Angolan community in various regions of the Asian country, including the approximately 50 students residing in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter epidemic, and in other parts of Hubei province, where the disease has killed more than 100 people.
The statement said that access to the city of Wuhan is exclusively reserved for Chinese state vehicles and aircraft, so “there is no way for private aid to be channeled to that region of China and none of the embassies was able to do so after having been quarantine decreed”.
This same position was reiterated by the deputy foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu, during a meeting with the Diplomatic Corps in Beijing, when he reacted to the questions posed by some ambassadors accredited in China, about the possibility of bringing aid to its citizens.
The embassy statement comes after some complaints and concerns expressed by Angolan students in China, through social media, for alleged lack of follow-up or help from the Angolan diplomatic mission in the Asian country.
On the day that the Chinese authorities warned of the seriousness of the situation, the Angolan ambassador to China, João Salvador Neto, contacted students in the cities of Wuhan, Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Tiajing, Hangzou, Nanjing and Jiangsu, confirming that there was no registration of Angolan citizens infected or suspected of being affected by the new coronavirus.
"Since then, there has been regular contact, by telephone, with at least one student, in each of the cities who, in turn, share the information with the other members of the Angolan community", the note said.
According to the embassy, a 'task-force' was created internally, headed by the ambassador, who maintains permanent contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which the list with the names of Angolan citizens residing in Wuhan was given, for support required.
China increased the balance of the new coronavirus detected at the end of the year in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, to 106 dead and more than 4000 infected.
