China Detects Traces of Coronavirus in Ecuadorian Shrimp Packaging

BEIJING, KOMPAS.com – Ecuadorian shrimp packaging in China is found to contain traces of coronavirus, based on reports from Chinese state media on Wednesday.

Traces of the Covid-19 virus were detected in imported goods from Ecuador delivered to China’s eastern Anhui province.

This is the latest instance of the novel virus being detected on imported goods.

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China’s state television, CCTV, shared that during a routine inspection, local authorities found traces of coronavirus on the outer packaging of Ecuadorian shrimp ordered by a restaurant in the city of Wuhu.

A day prior, a port city in eastern Shandong province also found traces of coronavirus on the packaging of imported frozen seafood.

Authorities have yet to clarify the origins of the frozen seafood goods.

Since July, several other Chinese cities have also reported cases, including the port cities of Xiamen and Dalian, prompting China to suspend imports from three Ecuadorean shrimp producers.

CCTV said on Wednesday the Wuhu restaurant had stored the contaminated products in a freezer since purchase and that all related products in the city had been sealed off.

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Nucleic acid tests for the virus on workers, food and inside the restaurant, as well as for staff at a shrimp wholesale company and their family members showed negative results, as did tests carried out on staff, food and the environment at other restaurants in the city that bought shrimps from the wholesale company.

The novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease Covid-19, is believed to have emerged in a seafood and wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

China embarked on intensive screening of meat and seafood containers at major ports after a fresh outbreak of the disease was linked to a wholesale food market in Beijing in June.

An Ecuadorian official on Wednesday said China had given approval for one of three companies subject to restrictions to resume exports after Ecuador agreed to improve shipping protocols.

(Writers: Lusha Zhang, Judy Hua, Ryan Woo | Editor: Barbara Lewis)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-anhui/coronavirus-found-on-ecuador-shrimps-in-china-state-media-says-idUSKCN2581D1