New Zealand on Tuesday reported its first case of COVID-19 in more than 100 days. It is possible that the virus arrived via imported food packages.
The country’s health officials suggested that the new outbreak may be linked to these frozen goods because one of the infected patients works at a store that orders such items from abroad, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Chinese officials reported similar news this week: Traces of the virus were found on frozen shrimp and chicken wing packages imported from Ecuador and Brazil, respectively.
The Shenzhen municipal health commission, where officials discovered the infected chicken wing packages, warned residents to “be careful when buying imported frozen meat products and aquatic products in recent days,” according to NBC News.
But experts say the chances of catching COVID-19 from frozen food are slim.
“It is possible, but the virus is not very stable outside the human body,” Caitlin Howell, a chemical and biomedical engineer at the University of Maine, told Business Insider.
She added, “Freezing or cooling the virus can help prolong the period it stays infected. That’s why we think outbreaks in carnivorous plants occur so often, but transmission via surfaces seems to be rare – even if those surfaces are frozen or cool. “
So far, the Shenzhen Health Committee has reported that no one who comes in contact with the frozen food products tested positive for COVID-19.
You probably do not have to worry about frozen foods
Chinese health officials have previously discovered coronavirus on frozen packaging. Frozen seafood packages transported by a foreign ship to Yantai also had traces of virus, NBC News reported. (The origin of these packages is unknown.) Last month, they also found coronavirus on imported frozen foods in Dalian, Xiamen and Pingxiang.
A woman is shopping on August 13, 2020 in a supermarket in Beijing, China.
Thomas Peter / Reuters
But those findings are not a cause for concern, according to Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Health Emergencies program.
“There is no evidence that food like the food chain is involved in transmitting this virus, and people need to feel comfortable and safe,” Ryan said in a press release on Thursday, adding, “people should not be afraid of food. , or food packaging as processing, and the delivery of food. “
China has tested several hundred thousand packaging samples and less than 10 came back positive, the WHO reported.
That’s because the virus – if it spreads on such packages – is unlikely to survive for the time it takes to transport goods from one place to another, according to Rachel Graham, an epidemiologist at the University of the North Carolina.
“Even frozen, on such a surface, will kill and dehydrate the virus, making it completely non-infectious,” Graham told Business Insider, adding that the ‘freeze-thaw process’ could kill it as well.
What’s more, she said, it’s likely that Chinese officials detected viral RNA on the packages, which is not a major threat.
“Although RNA is virologically contagious, it is practically not,” she said.
The coronavirus can attach to surfaces, but it is unlikely to make you sick
Bar manager Jack Chrisholm packs supplies for online orders at the Fork & Brewer on April 29, 2020, in Wellington, New Zealand.
Mark Tantrum / Getty Images
A person can get the coronavirus if they touch a surface or object that has viral particles on it, then touch their mouth, nose or eyes. The lifespan of the virus on objects depends on the type of material: One study found that it takes three hours for the virus to leave tissue and printing paper, while other studies suggest that viral particles can live one day on cardboard and up to three days on plastic and stainless steel.
But the coronavirus typically spreads through air droplets (and probably aerosols as well), rather than shared surfaces.
“Throughout the pandemic so far, it has continued to ship products around the world. If surface transmission – whether frozen or not – was a major driver of infection, we would have many case reports. look at it, “Howell said, adding,” the fact that we are not suggesting that it is not a major route of infection. “
Indeed, the CDC says the virus “does not spread easily” from infected surfaces, although the agency continues to recommend that people clean “high-impact surfaces” regularly and disinfect just in case.
Precautions to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission to surfaces
A delivery man for Coupang Jung Im-hong loads packages before leaving to deliver them in Incheon, South Korea, March 3, 2020.
Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
Howell and Graham both advised that shippers and shoppers grow and remain zealous during the pandemic.
“The best thing that can be done by the manufacturers, shippers, and others in the supply chain is to have a strong, enforced policy of wearing masks, washing hands and staying home when you are sick,” Howell said.
For individual shoppers, she added, “the best thing customers should do is simply not touch their face until they have had a chance to wash their hands or use sanitizer.”
Your chances of getting a virus-infected surface in a public store are far, far higher than encountering the virus on frozen foods, according to Graham.
“It’s not something you have to worry about, but you have to keep being aware of what you are touching and then bring it to your face. That will protect you the most,” she said.
Morgan McFall-Johnsen contributed reporting to this story.
