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Beijing: China has called off the import of frozen seafood products from six Indian marine export companies on Thursday following the traces of coronavirus being found on the packaging, Chinese customs claimed.
In a press release, the General Administration of Customs of China stated the suspension of imports from the six Indian companies for a week as the virus was spotted on the outer packages of the seafood products.
China has also suspended imports from companies in case of finding traces of the virus on the packaging as it has been testing imported frozen food products from all over the world since early last year. The country has brought the spread of the coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, under control with strict measures.
China's National Health Commission on Thursday reported Wednesday's coronavirus stats as six new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were recorded in southern Guangdong province while 15 new imported cases on the mainland were reported.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asked China to allow Indian citizens to travel to that country adding that essential two-way visits should be allowed as Chinese nationals can come to India amidst allegations that Indians were not allowed entry into China after being inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines. The MEA stated that India supports the need for a follow up to the WHO's report on the origin of the COVID 19.
The virus emergence has been alleged to have leaked from a laboratory specializing in coronavirus research in the city of Wuhan. The first Covid-19 case was officially reported by the end of December 2019 in Hubei province.
However, the Chinese authorities have denied the allegations citing a WHO-led study in March, which concluded that it was extremely unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from the lab, adding that the virus spread from bats to humans through an unidentified intermediary species was more likely.
At least 3.75 million people have succumbed to Covid19 so far with more than 174 million confirmed cases worldwide.