China cites coronavirus on packaging, despite doubts abroad

Chinese state media say parcels mailed from overseas may have spread the coronavirus in Beijing and elsewhere, despite doubts among overseas health experts that the virus can be transmitted via packaging

BEIJING -- Chinese state media say parcels mailed from overseas may have spread the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Beijing and elsewhere, despite doubts among overseas health experts that the virus can be transmitted via packaging.

The State Post Bureau said it has ordered stronger measures to ventilate and disinfect sites where items mailed from overseas are handled. Postal workers must wear protective equipment, receive booster shots and undergo regular testing, it said on its website. International packages must be isolated, cleaned and held for a waiting period to ensure they are free from the virus, it said.

Global health experts say the virus mainly spreads through respiratory droplets when infected people breathe, speak, cough and sneeze.

The World Health Organization says coronaviruses “need a live animal or human host to multiply and survive and cannot multiply on the surface of food packages.”