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Despite zero cases of Ebola having been reported in China, the country's officials have reportedly been enforcing stricter travel restrictions on people traveling from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa, according to diplomats via Reuters' Megha Rajagopalan.
As a result of the toughened restrictions, ambassadors from countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone say some citizens are avoiding travel to China altogether.
"You have many Liberians, Guineans and Sierra Leonians who come frequently to conduct business," said Dudley Thomas McKinley, Liberia's ambassador to China. "Of course this has impacted them in a negative way and has slowed it down."
"It has impacted the numbers of people traveling to China from those regions, whether for business or for study," he added.
The Reuters report notes that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any changes in the visa policy for West Africans.
Although Sierra Leone's ambassador to China Victor Bockarie Foh admitted that he was "rigorously examined" upon returning to Beijing after a recent trip to West Africa, he appears to approve of China's enhanced measures.
"If you fly with a disease like this, it is like flying with a bomb. They (China) have not closed their doors. They are only being careful."
China isn't the only country to impose travel restrictions on West Africans, as the U.S. has also conducted health checks on travelers from nations affected by the Ebola outbreak.
And China's restrictions pale in comparison to Australia, which has ceased issuing visas for citizens in parts of West Africa.
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