Covid in Wuhan? “Comes with frozen food”

Published on: 11/30/2020 12:04 PM

The coronavirus also travels with frozen food. At least according to Beijing, which has stepped up its efforts to block Covid-19 imported through frozen food from other countries. In particular, after China attacked Norwegian salmon last summer, in recent days the authorities of Wuhan reported that three samples of imported frozen food packaging tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to the Municipal Health Commission, two samples were taken from a refrigerated frozen meat warehouse in Brazil and the third from another frozen fish warehouse in Vietnam.

Local authorities sealed the products, quarantined them and carried out molecular tests on personnel who had direct contact with the food. So far, all the results have been negative. The frozen food shipments from which the contaminated samples were taken had not been marketed.

Therefore, China has decided to intensify its efforts to block the spread of Covid-19 through imported food. In mid-November, the Ministry of Transportation released a set of guidelines to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 through frozen food imported by road and water transport, emphasizing the training and protection of personnel, as well as the disinfection of vehicles. . Ministry spokesman Sun Wenjian said at a press conference.

Those who work in cold chain logistics and are exposed to infection risks will receive professional training to wear protective suits, while port workers will be instructed to wear face masks and avoid contact with frozen products that could be contaminated by the virus, Sun said.

Thorough sterilization of vehicles and containers will be performed before and after each transport, with particular attention to points that pose the highest risk of contamination, including steering wheels and doorknobs, according to Sun. The guideline also requires that people, cargo, and vehicles involved in cold chain logistics be properly tracked, while urging a rapid response to any positive test results on imported food or packaging to block the transmission chains. Since mid-November, virus-positive imported food packaging samples have been reported in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

China has increased Enditem’s efforts