China Said 2 People Contracted COVID-19 from Pig Heads from North America


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An avid fan of imported meat?

Well, you may wanna abstain from it for a while.

Or at least until you’re done with this article anyway.

China Said 2 People Contracted COVID-19 from Pig Heads from North America

Two confirmed COVID-19 cases in November 2020 are believed to have been infected from pig heads from North America.

The notion was conveyed by Zhang Ying, an official at the Tianjin Center For Disease Control and Prevention, at a press conference. At that time, the pig heads have yet to be tested.

However, samples – which were retrieved from the exact spots where the pig heads fell – tested positive for COVID-19.

For the record, both cases have reportedly been exposed to the pig heads.

In a statement earlier this month, Tianjin authorities expressed that they would implement tests on several storage facilities and staff, following a case revolving around a worker who had managed frozen pork sent from Germany.

The virus has apparently been found in imported meat and packaging on more than one occasion, China said.

The country noted five new cases on Tuesday (24 November 2020), down from 22 on Monday.

All new cases are stated to have been imported from overseas.

Six new asymptomatic cases were also reported. Lest you’re unaware, China does not classify such cases (asymptomatic patients) as confirmed ones.

Thus far, the total tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China stands at 86,469, while the death toll lies at 4,634.

Previous Instances

Apart from Germany, imported beef and tripe samples from Brazil, New Zealand and Bolivia have, too, been reported by China to contain traces of coronavirus on their packaging.

Shrimp from Ecuador, squid from Russia, fish from Norway and Indonesia, as well as beef and chicken wings from Brazil have also been accused in the last few months.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is improbable that people can get infected from food or packaging.


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“Coronaviruses need a live animal or human host to multiply and survive and cannot multiply on the surface of food packages. It is not necessary to disinfect food packaging materials, but hands should be properly washed after handling food packages and before eating,” WHO said on its website.

“The virus that causes COVID-19 can be killed at temperatures similar to that of other known viruses and bacteria found in food.”

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also concurs, stating that the risk is “very low”.

Both have insisted that there is no hard evidence that food could transmit the virus.

However, the Chinese CDC has claimed otherwise, which explains why they’ve spoken out about the pig head incident.


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According to Chinese CDC chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou, the Beijing outbreak is a prime exemplification of how contaminated food can result in new outbreaks, via cold-chain transportation.

Back in June, an outbreak had occurred in the biggest wholesale food market in Beijing, leading China to suspect imported frozen food as the cause.

In a study published in the National Science Review, a journal that’s hosted under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, experts – including those from the Beijing CDC – theorised that contaminated imported frozen seafood was likely to have been the originating reason behind the Beijing Outbreak.

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