Advertisement
New Zealand markets closed
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NZD/USD

    0.5972
    -0.0003 (-0.05%)
     
  • NZD/EUR

    0.5537
    +0.0004 (+0.07%)
     
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,254.69
    -26.15 (-0.14%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,327.30
    +159.23 (+0.40%)
     
  • NZD/JPY

    90.3400
    -0.0530 (-0.06%)
     

China's COVID scare over post and pets

China wants people to wear masks and gloves when opening mail, especially when it's sent from abroad.

That comes after authorities suggested the first case of the Omicron variant found in Beijing could have arrived through a package from Canada.

The state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday (January 17) that citizens should minimize their buys of overseas goods or receiving mail from abroad.

It said people should protect themselves during face-to-face handovers and wear masks and gloves - and even try to open the package outdoors.

Health officials said the person found infected with Omicron opened a package from Canada and transmission through the parcel could not be ruled out.

ADVERTISEMENT

China has been largely alone in its view that COVID-19 can spread through cold-chain imports like frozen meat and fish, while the World Health Organization has played down that risk.

China has vowed to step up disinfection of overseas mail and insists postal staff are fully vaccinated when they handle it.

The country has fought to stop COVID spreading with the Beijing Winter Olympics less than three weeks away.

Hong Kong went so far as to order the cull of 2,000 hamsters on Tuesday (January 18).

Echoing the mainland's zero-tolerance policy even as much of the world shifts to living with COVID.

It also warned pet owners not to kiss animals after a cluster of infections was traced to a pet shop there.

The outbreak of Delta variant cases led to tests on hundreds of animals in the Chinese-ruled territory.

11 hamsters showed up positive.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan told a news conference authorities were acting out of caution even though there was no evidence domestic animals can infect humans.

Hong Kong would not be the first place to cull animals infected with the virus.

Last September, three pet cats were put down in the Chinese city of Harbin.

In Europe, Denmark introduced a plan to cull all 17 million mink after a mutation of the virus spread to humans from one of the animals.

And last year, some Russian regions inoculated animals against COVID-19 after Moscow said it had registered the world's first vaccine after doing tests on dogs and cats.