China Post to test all overseas mail for Covid-19 as outbreak continues
- Letters and parcels will be held for nucleic acid testing and released within 14 to 20 hours of a negative result
- The tightened regulations follow 87 new local cases reported and 147 imported infections across the country
In a notice released on its official WeChat account on Monday, China Post said it was carrying out nucleic acid testing for overseas mail and parcels to prevent the possibility of coronavirus infections through contaminated objects to human beings.
Tao Mu, from China Post in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, told state broadcaster CCTV that mail would be delivered within 14 to 20 hours of a negative test result. The northern region reported dozens of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.
“After disinfection and leaving the parcel for 24 hours, we will open the parcel and carry out Covid-19 testing for the inside objects with the consent of the recipient,” Tao said.
China Post described the process as “an additional barrier” to effectively reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission through objects.
China has been an outlier in asserting that Covid-19 can be transmitted via cold-chain imports and other inanimate objects, a possibility which has been largely dismissed by most international scientists.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last year it was possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, but the risk was generally considered low.