Chennai: There is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19-causing coronavirus is being spread by food or packaging, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, WHO head of emergencies programme Mike Ryan said, “People should not fear food, or food packaging or processing or delivery of food.”
Ryan urged people not to be afraid of the virus entering the food chain. This has come at a time when two cities in China have reportedly found traces of the new coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause new outbreaks. Following the incident, China has stepped up screenings at its ports.
“There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said and added that China had tested hundreds of thousands of packages and ‘found very, very few, less than 10’ proving positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement that it was seeking clarification on the Chinese findings.
Ecuadors production minister, Ivan Ontaneda, told Reuters that the country maintains strict protocols and cannot be held responsible for what happens to goods after they leave the country.
More than 20.69 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and almost 750,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally.