Over 300 Ghanaian students in the Hubei province of China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak have received payments of $500 each from the government of Ghana to help them manage their welfare as they remain lockdown.

President Akufo-Addo during his delivery of the State of the Nation Address last week revealed that government is committed to ensuring the welfare of Ghanaians in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the Asian nation.

He added that whilst government will not relent on evacuating Ghanaians students in China as and when necessary, the embassy of Ghana had so far given each student $500 to help manage their welfare.

Speaking to some Ghanaian students in China, they confirmed to GhanaWeb.com of having received payments of ¥3,490 (the equivalent of $500) each from the embassy of Ghana in China. An amount which according to the embassy is to help the students “procure items essential for their survival in the interim.”

The students say with their bank accounts linked to their mobile accounts, they have been able to purchase food and other vital supplies with the amount even though banks remain closed due to the outbreak.



The students added that they are now waiting on some local Ghanaian foods the embassy is shipping to be supplied to them.

“All the 300 Ghanaian students in the Hubei province have received the payment and it includes about 70 of us at the Yangtze University. This is very timely because we have been able to restock our supplies with this amount. Now we are waiting on the kenkey and shito which the embassy says has been shipped already.” A Ghanaian student told Ghanaweb.com.

Since the coronavirus outbreak started in China over a month ago there have been calls for government of Ghana to evacuate its citizens.

Those making the demand for evacuation include Ghanaian students in China and their parents back home, as well as members of the minority half of parliament.

But in reaction to these calls, the government of Ghana and its health agencies says it is working in hand with the Chinese government to ensure the safety of Ghanaian citizens in China.

The government adds that an evacuation of Ghanaians from china is a last resort which will only be considered as and when necessary.

“The government is in constant touch with experts on this subject who advise that the basic principle of public health is to confide the disease to its area of origin. But we have not ruled out the option of evacuating the students from Wuhan if that becomes necessary.” President Akufo-Addo told parliament on Thursday.