General Secretary of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Alpha Shaban, has stated that the Union is not privy to the number of Ghanaian business men and women in China following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Asian country.

According to him, it is not an ordinary issue for GUTA to ascertain but the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service.

“We currently do not have statistics of Ghanaians who are there. On the other hand, this is not an issue for the ordinary person. That is a total issue for the Ministry of health. So they have to put in the necessary measures to make sure that it doesn’t affect the country.”

According to reports by Bloomberg, the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus threatens to derail a fragile stabilization in the world economy, which had appeared poised to benefit from the phase one U.S.-China trade deal, and signs of a tech turnaround.

The virus, the report said, has affected consumption and tourism while huge firms have evacuated workers in areas where the disease is prevalent.

In an interview with GhanaWeb on whether the virus was affecting the livelihoods of locals bringing in goods and services from China, he noted that there is a possibility, reaffirming that the virus has taken a toll on those having businesses with China of which Ghana is no exception.

He predicted that the effect on trade will persist until the situation is brought under control.

“This is an international disaster. Definitely it will affect all those having businesses with china until it is brought under total control. It will take a toll on businesses and therefore the economies of these countries as well.”