Advertisement
Coronavirus: China tells delivery firms to step up disinfection of packages
- Guidelines released after traces of the pathogen detected on a number of parcels
- Transmission of the disease via mail unlikely, health experts say
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
5
China’s CDC has issued sanitation guidelines for package and food delivery companies after the coronavirus was detected on several parcels earlier this month.
Advertisement
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that the companies should disinfect delivery equipment and ensure workers had hygienic supplies throughout their shifts.
The guidelines were issued even though those who came in direct contact with the packages, from the shippers to the recipients, tested negative for the virus.
The CDC said on Wednesday that the virus was found on one parcel from Inner Mongolia that was delivered to Beijing and another sent to Liaoning province.
Two other packages sent and delivered within Inner Mongolia also showed traces of the virus.
Advertisement
Hong Kong health authorities also said on Wednesday that routine testing indicated traces of the virus on a package that arrived in the city on November 13, six days after it had been sent from Inner Mongolia.
Advertisement