PUTRAJAYA, Oct 19 — Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has assured the public that despite reports suggesting it, contracting Covid-19 through virus on the surface of frozen food packages remains highly unlikely.
The Ministry of Health director-general said the main vector of infection remains mainly by droplets, as well as close contact form one person to another, and indirectly via surfaces.
“At the moment there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Covid-19 can be transmitted via food or food packaging,” Dr Noor Hisham said during his daily press briefing here.
“It is highly unlikely that one can contract the infection of Covid-19 from food or from food packaging.”
Reuters had recently reported a discovery by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which found it possible for the Covid-19 virus to be transmitted via frozen food packaging.
China’s CDC said it had made the discovery after it managed to detect and isolate live coronavirus on the outer packaging of frozen cod fish during efforts to trace the virus in the port city of Qingdao, China.
Two dock workers who later tested positive for the infection were believed to have contracted the virus where the contaminated packaging was found despite the lack of solid proof.
Despite the belief, the report also quoted the China’s CDC acknowledging that risk of such infections happening remained low.
