East China city finds coronavirus on packaging of imported fish

Samples collected from the packaging of imported frozen hairtail have tested positive for COVID-19 in the city of Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, local authorities said.

The city's COVID-19 prevention and control office said they detected the novel coronavirus in the packaging samples taken from the hairtail stored in a local food shop. The batch of fish had been imported from Myanmar.

Authorities have sealed relevant products that had been traced, and disinfected the facilities and vehicles used to store and transport the products.

A total of 17 people who came into contact with the contaminated packaging are currently under isolated observation and have all tested negative for COVID-19.

China has stepped up efforts to block the spread of COVID-19 through imported food. The Ministry of Transport released a guideline in mid-November to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 through cold-chain food imported via roads and waterways.

The State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 has also unveiled a plan for full-chain, closed-loop, traceable management of imported cold-chain food.