China’s postal service has ordered its employees to disinfect packages and letters from abroad after authorities claimed the mail might be the source of recent corona outbreaks in the country. In addition, the authorities have asked residents to order fewer items from abroad.
The postal service released a statement Monday ordering workers to disinfect the outside of all international mail “as soon as possible”. Employees who deal with international packages and letters must also have had a booster shot against the coronavirus. The service also asked people to limit their orders from “countries and areas with a high epidemic risk”. In addition, domestic and international mail must be handled in separate areas.
China, where the coronavirus was first discovered at the end of 2019, has a strict zero-covid policy, which means strict measures to end outbreaks quickly. However, the country is currently experiencing several minor outbreaks, including one in Beijing’s capital, which is hosting the Winter Olympics next month.
Authorities have suggested several times in recent days that packages from abroad may have infected some people. For example, a woman from Beijing tested positive for the coronavirus while not being in contact with other infected people. In addition, the woman was infected with a variant similar to one found in North America.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said that being infected by virus particles on a surface is very small and decreases with time. Nevertheless, with a view to the Games, China would not want to take any risks.