The Gambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, has announced that some eleven Gambians quarantined in the Chinese city of Guanzhou had been freed.
A press release from the Foreign Affairs Ministry seen by APA on Saturday indicated, that Gambians in whose names were not mentioned were subjected to mandatory quarantine.
There were freed after testing negative for Covid-19.
Sources from the Gambian community in China acknowledged their release to Africa Press Agency on Saturday.
The Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Momodou Tangara was on Tuesday summoned by the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Constitutional Matters of the National Assembly of The Gambia following claims of maltreatment of Africans by Chinese nationals earlier this month.
The minister admitted that the eleven Gambians were among Africans forcefully put in isolation and were released after testing negative for the deadly virus.
Hundreds of Gambians are in China for business and studies.
In Wuhan where the virus was first reported in late December, 2019 there are 20 Gambian students who are all said to be safe from the virus, APA learned from the Gambian embassy in Beijing.
The Gambian Foreign Affairs Ministry said, it was monitoring the situation of Gambians in other countries and that 1,500 of them were ascertained in the Gambia’s High Commission in London, 130 in India and 29 in Bangladesh.
The official data collected from the country’s foreign missions further indicated more than 40,000 Gambians in Spain and 70,000 in Italy.
800 Gambian citizens were so registered by its embassies in Greece, more than 300 in Malta, over 210 in Saudi Arabia, 25 in Senegal, 28 in Bissau, 4 in Cape Verde, 40 in Nigeria, 129 in Morocco, 25 in Kenya, and 38 in Uganda.
Meanwhile, the government through its diplomatic channel in Washington is seeking the release of Gambians under custody of the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) of the United States.
The request according to Minister Tangara was based on humanitarian grounds due to the global pandemic.
Two female Gambians have died of Covid-19 in the United States.
The minister was responding to questions and concerns by the parliamentary committee on Wednesday about monitoring the situation of Gambians abroad.
EJ/abj/APA