MANILA - Traces of the novel coronavirus were detected on a packaging of imported squid, authorities in a province in China reported.
Health officials in the China's Fuyu City have since urged those who bought the imported squid to get themselves tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Reuters said in a report Sunday.
The report, quoting Fuyu City's health office, said one of the packages came from Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province.
In its advisory, the health office urged those who ate and bought imported squid from the Sanjia Deda frozen seafood shop between August 24 to August 31 to get themselves tested for COVID-19, the report added.
"The Changchun COVID-19 prevention office said the squid had been imported from Russia by a company in Hunchun city and brought to the provincial capital," the report added.
In June, experts from around the world issued varying statements on the risk of COVID-19 infection from eating or handling frozen or chilled food.
The virus is known to spread from person to person through spray or droplets from sneezing, coughing, speaking, or even breathing. In some instances, virus of the respiratory disease is also airborne.
The pandemic has killed at least 957,948 people in the world since emerging in Wuhan, China late last year, according to an AFP tally on Monday, based on official sources.
More than 30.8 million people have been infected.
The United States has the most deaths with 199,268, followed by Brazil with 136,532, India with 86,752, Mexico with 73,258 and Britain with 41,759.
- With reports from Agence France-Presse, New York Times