Implications as it could be possible for virus to be transported over long distances via frozen goods.
Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention writes, reported in Reuters, that for the first time ever, living novel coronavirus has been isolated from the outer packaging of cold-chain food.
The CDC said it detected and isolated living COVID-19 on the outer packaging of imported frozen cod in Qingdao. The finding, a world-first according to the CDC, suggests it is possible for the virus to be transported over long distances via frozen goods.
The study was made during an investigation to trace the source of recent infections reported in the city.
“However, the CDC’s latest statement does not show solid proof that the two workers in Qingdao caught the virus from the packaging directly, rather than contracting the virus from somewhere else and then contaminating the food packaging they handled,” said Jin Dong-Yan, a virology professor at the University of Hong Kong to Reuters.
