Xinhua News Agency:

The public are very concerned about the potential contamination of food. If the environment around food is contaminated by the COVID-19 virus, or employees working in the food industry are confirmed cases, will the food then be covered with the virus? What is the likelihood of being infected by the virus?

Li Ning:

Thank you for your question. During the processing, production and sale of food, if the surrounding environment is contaminated, or employees working in the food industry are confirmed as having COVID-19, then there will be a possibility of food contamination. During the pandemic, to avoid and prevent this kind of contamination, employees in the food industry are required to work in strict accordance with the relevant regulations and requirements, and sterilize the environment and facilities during the production, processing and sale of food. Employees also need to enhance their personal health monitoring. Once they display symptoms such as a fever, cough or feeling weak, they must stop working and go to hospital immediately. At the same time they must report to the relevant authorities. They may not go to work when displaying any symptoms.

Recently, many local authorities have also enhanced their monitoring of food samples for the COVID-19 virus. As of July 7, nearly 60,000 food samples collected from Zhejiang, Yunnan, Henan and Shandong provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have tested negative for the virus. All things considered, the probability of food being contaminated by the COVID-19 virus is very low. Thank you.