Fear has been unleashed among Chinese buyers after the health authorities of Beijing confirmed this last week that the first infected by the variant omicron of coronavirus in the Chinese capital would have been infected after receiving documents from Canada by mail.
The virus was detected on the outside and inside of the package, which the patient had received on January 11, as well as on the surface of the papers it contained, according to authorities.
The package arrived in the Chinese capital after passing through the United States and Hong Kong and, given that the infected person had not traveled outside of Beijing during the 14 days prior to the appearance of symptoms, the researchers concluded that a possible contagion through this international package “cannot be discarded”.
The health authorities explained that the strain of omicron detected in the affected person was similar to the one circulating in North America and Singapore in December and different from that of the omicron outbreaks detected in China, in the city of Tianjin (northeast) and the province of Henan (center).
State television CCTV recommended its followers on social networks to “reduce purchases of products from abroad and the receipt of international mail.”
Possible effect on “COVID passports”
Since this Wednesday, there are some testimonies on the Weibo social network, -similar to Twitter, which is censored in the country- of people who have received a package from abroad and have seen the consequences on their “COVID passports” (health QR codes) .
In China, these codes are displayed at the entrance of commercial establishments, public places or events to attest that one has not passed through risk areas where cases of COVID-19 have been detected.
According to the level of risk, they are divided into green, yellow and red, and several residents of Shenzhen (southeast) who received packages from abroad have seen their codes change to yellow, which can restrict them from entering public places and offices or the boarding in means of transport.
At the moment, there is no official confirmation that the changes in the QR are due to the receipt of mail.
Online shopping for goods imported from abroad is very popular in the country: ZTO Express alone, one of the largest logistics companies in China, handles about 120,000 packages from abroad every day.
However, judging by some comments on Weibo, some consumers might put their international purchases on hold for a while: “It’s better not to buy anything to save yourself trouble,” commented one user; “We are not going to die for not buying anything from abroad,” pointed out another.
Other commenters, on the other hand, expressed incredulity: “Officially it has only been said that the possibility of contagion by mail cannot be ruled out, why would they change the code to yellow?”
A controversial theory
It is not the first time that China attributes an outbreak to products from abroad: Beijing itself suffered one of its worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in June 2020 and, according to the authorities, the virus was detected on a fish cutting board used by a seller of imported salmon from Europe at Xinfadi, the city’s main wholesale market.
Institutions such as the World Health Organization and the United States Center for Disease Control point out that the probability of becoming infected through contact with a frozen product is “very low”.
Regarding the infection through an international package, the health authorities of Canada, where the package allegedly responsible for the outbreak in Beijing came from, have assured that it is “extremely unlikely”.
Even microbiology professor Emanuel Goldman, quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, declared that “there is no possibility” that something like this could happen since the “virus does not remain alive for more than two hours on surfaces such as paper”.
However, Chinese disinfection expert Zhuang Liubo assured in state media that it is possible: “A package from abroad can be contaminated with a relatively large amount of virus. Later, logistics chain operators can cough or sneeze, providing saliva and sputum, organic material that protects the virus.
far reaching consequences
Be that as it may, Beijing’s insistence that this chain of contagion is possible has consequences even in economies located on the other side of the world.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has claimed to have found traces of coronavirus in frozen products such as Brazilian chicken wings, Ecuadorian shrimp or European salmon.
In addition to arousing mistrust among consumers, Chinese authorities frequently suspend imports of a product when they claim to detect traces of the coronavirus upon arrival in China.
This policy has harmed countries like Ecuador, where several export companies have been sanctioned by China, a punishment that in some cases has only been lifted thanks to bilateral diplomatic negotiations.
As an example, in the case of Ecuador, China has come to buy up to 62% of the shrimp destined for export.
The Asian country continues to adhere to its zero tolerance policy against the coronavirus, which involves massive PCR testing campaigns for the population and selective confinement wherever a case is detected, in addition to keeping the borders practically closed to foreign visitors.
According to official accounts, since the start of the pandemic, 105,411 people have been infected in the country, among whom 97,478 managed to recover and 4,636 died.
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Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
