Intl cargo resembles cold chain in winter, could carry virus
All international freight by air, land and sea resembles cold- chain logistics as winter approaches, which means they could become carriers of COVID- 19, a top Chinese epidemiologist warned, while the largest marine products market in Beijing has strengthened management to prevent infections.
The virus likes low temperature environments, and the lower the temperature, the longer the virus will live, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
This adds to the increasingly dire pandemic situation around the world, so the risk of infection through contaminated packages overseas increases significantly, Wu said, noting that daily new cases around the world have surpassed 600,000 this month.
Wu’s statement came after UPS and FedEx employees at Shanghai Pudong International Airport tested positive for COVID- 19, after the airport initiated nucleic acid testing on Sunday for all staff, the local CDC reported on Monday night.
Shanghai health authority also said Monday that the confirmed local cases reported on November 9 and 10 had been exposed to one contaminated air cargo container.
These cases show that COVID- 19 continues to attempt to enter China’s borders, and China will face severe challenges domestically in winter, Wu said, noting that he is confident China will pass the winter test.
Some places in China like East China’s Shandong Province and Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei Province have announced the building of centralized supervision centers for frozen products to be disinfected, and to conduct COVID- 19 nucleic acid tests before allowing them to enter the local market.
Seafood companies and markets are also enhancing management.
Eason Li, China general manager at Norwegian seafood processor Hofseth International AS, told the Global Times on Tuesday that they had raised the safety level during processing procedures to prevent infections, and would try their best to seal the products well to prevent infections during delivery.
Beijing’s Jingshen seafood market, the largest marine products distribution center, is no longer open to individual consumers, and strictly manages personnel passing in and out to prevent people from gathering at the market.