Javascript tests refer to same array of objects, even though I empty it before each test

So, I have an async function, which fetches an array of objects, to which I want to do testing to. But the problem is, each tests refers to the same array, even if I fetch it individually before each test.

describe('Package parser mock status file tests', async () => {
    let packages: Package[] = [];

    beforeEach(async function () {
        packages = await PackageParser.fromStatusFile("tests/mockStatusFile.txt");
    });

    afterEach(async function () {
        packages.length = 0;
    });

This causes the array being filled as many times as there are tests, even though I empty it before each test. Even if I set the arrays to a different variable in each test. I'm aware of object and array referencing and async to some extent, but I don't understand how this is possible.

I'm using Mocha.