The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says it has received reports that some African countries are refusing entry to their own citizens returning from China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The organisation’s director Dr John Nkengasong said this went against the instructions of the World Health Organisation that there should be no restrictions of movement, goods and air travel. “I say this because, as of yesterday, we started receiving reports that some countries are refusing their own citizens from coming back to the country. This cannot happen. We should all act collectively and make sure that we put pressure where it has to be placed, because Africans cannot be rejected.”Africa CDC has been funded with $5 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to respond to the outbreak.