Guangzhou vows no discrimination in COVID-19 fight

Guangzhou, Guangdong province, is urging all residents of the city to work together to fight COVID-19 in the weeks to come.

In a multilingual open letter issued on Monday, the city government promised to treat all people in Guangzhou equally, regardless of nationality, race, gender or age.

"The Guangzhou city government applies the same COVID-19 prevention and control measures to everyone, and all should obey the city's epidemic prevention and control regulations and rules," the letter said.

It was issued by the leading group dealing with the epidemic. It read, in part:

"No departments, companies, organizations or individuals are allowed to refuse residents or tourists access to hotels, shopping centers, restaurants or barber shops; or to use public toilets, enter into local communities, housing estates, parks or relevant public venues; or to enjoy the city's public transportation facilities because of their nationality, race, gender or age, as the city's COVID-19 measures never target specific groups and people."

Guangzhou is a open and tolerant city and has zero tolerance for any discrimination, including language discrimination, the letter said.

Despite progress against the coronavirus epidemic having been achieved in previous months, the city faces continued pressure to stop imported infections and a potential rebound in indigenous cases. Everybody in the city should join hands and work together to prevent the deadly disease from further spreading in coming weeks, the letter added.

Guangzhou has reported a total of 125 imported cases. The most recent was reported on Sunday.