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Chinese, intl couriers vow tightened disinfection for inbound parcels after two Omicron cases suspected from N.America packages
By Zhang Dan and Tu Lei Published: Jan 18, 2022 01:41 PM
Chinese and foreign courier companies vowed to strictly follow virus control rules in China, including disinfecting the outer packages for all imported goods and placing virus warning labels on the packages, after the country vowed to prevent international packages from causing any more local COVID-19 flare-ups.
FedEx said its business across China is operating as normal and the company continues to adhere to instructions by relevant departments in implementing coronavirus controls.
“The outer packages of all imported goods are disinfected multiple times before delivery… notification stickers are also placed on the outer packaging of imported goods,” FedEx told the Global Times in a statement.
DHL also pledged to prevent the virus spreading from both “people and goods.”
“At present, the COVID prevention and control work remains at its highest level. We will carry out work according to the latest requirement and instructions from relevant authorities,” DHL told the Global Times on Tuesday.
SF Express, a large Chinese courier firm, said it disinfects parcels, equipment, facilities, and vehicles twice a day.
Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao told the Global Times it is tightening regulations for some warehouses, including disinfecting floor mats in order to sterilize employees’ footwear.
“We encourage 100 percent of our employees to be vaccinated and take the booster,” the company said.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1246242.shtml
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Omicron cases in Beijing, Shenzhen suspected of links to packages from North America
By Liu Caiyu Published: Jan 17, 2022 11:18 PM
China’s postal administration on Monday vowed to “build a barrier” against COVID-19 cases imported through international express mail, after at least two Omicron cases, one in Beijing and another one in Shenzhen, were suspected of tracking back to packages from North America.
Virologists warned of the high risk of packages from overseas causing domestic COVID-19 flare-ups, when the epidemic overseas is running high, as contaminated packages from epidemic-rampant countries may spread the virus to people with weak immunity through viral particles floating in the air, or people without proper protective gear.
A patient from Shenzhen, who was confirmed to be infected with Omicron on Sunday, is likely to have contracted it after being exposed to contaminated goods from overseas, Shenzhen’s health authorities said at Monday’s press conference.
The patient, whose work involved handling overseas frozen reagents for collection and delivery, had touched and opened packages from North America without using personal protective gear, according to the press conference, adding that the virus’ origin is still under probe.
On the same day, Beijing health authorities revealed that a patient from Beijing who was found to have Omicron on Saturday had received a piece of international mail on January 11, which was sent from Toronto, Canada on January 7 and then transferred via the US and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Beijing. The Omicron variant was detected on the outer package, internal surface and paper of the mail.
The Omicron strain of the patient in Beijing is similar to those of North America and Singapore in December 2021, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at Monday’s press conference. The possibility that the Beijing case was infected through the international mail cannot be ruled out, Pang said.
The Beijing CDC encouraged people to reduce purchasing overseas commodities as the epidemic overseas is rampant.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1246214.shtml
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Mail from Canada suspected source of Omicron case in Beijing: Beijing’s CDC
By Global Times Published: Jan 17, 2022 12:26 PM
The single Omicron case detected in Beijing was traced back to an international document from Canada, and it was found to have similar strains from those in North America and Singapore. The Omicron variant was detected on the outer package, internal surface and papers of the mail, Beijing health authorities revealed on Monday.
The patient who was found with Omicron on Saturday had received an international mail on January 11 which was sent from Canada on January 7, transferred via the US and China’s Hong Kong region to Beijing.
Combined with the epidemiological studies, the testing results of suspicious samples and the gene sequencing result of the case, the possibility that the Beijing case was infected by the virus through the international mail cannot be ruled out, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing center for disease control and prevention, said at Monday’s press conference.
The Omicron strain of the patient in Beijing is similar to those of North America and Singapore in December 2021, Pang said. The Beijing health authorities ruled out the possibility that the case has any relation with Omicron-infected outbreaks in other Chinese cities.
The patient only had contact with the outer package of the document and the front page of the document inside the mail. She did not touch the internal surface of the mail or other papers.
Testing results on 22 samples relating to the mail showed Omicron was detected in two samples of the outer surface of the mail package, two samples of internal surface of the package as well as eight samples of the paper inside.
Eight people that were in connection with the mail were tracked. Their nucleic acid testing results were negative.
Other than that, another international mail that was from the same delivery route, which has yet to be opened, also tested positive for COVID-19 virus.
The risk of the infection being further spread in Beijing is small because, as Pang said, all hot spots that the patient went to in the past 14 days before she was confirmed tested negative. A total of 69 people were found as close contacts, and their testing results were also negative.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1246137.shtml
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