COVID-19 tests are being conducted on the outer packaging of frozen boneless beef and loin in a Wuhan's frozen food storage warehouse on Thursday. In the warehouse, three samples of beef imported from Brazil were tested positive for novel coronavirus on November 12. Photo: Li Jieyi/GT

Xiangyang and Shiyan cities in Central China's Hubei Province both reported on Sunday that they had detected weak-positive COVID-19 samples on the outer packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador and Saudi Arabia, respectively. 

Xiangyang authorities detected the coronavirus in a routine cold-chain food sample test at a freezer on Sunday morning. The frozen raw South American white shrimp imported from Ecuador was sealed and stored on December 7, according to the authorities.

Another city in Hubei, Shiyan, found samples of the packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Saudi Arabia tested weak-positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. 

Both cities immediately put its epidemic prevention and control emergency plan into action, sealing off the entire area. All related products from the batch and their surrounding environments were fully disinfected and sterilized. All close contacts of the products were also isolated for nucleic acid testing purposes.

All relevant personnel returned negative test results for COVID-19 as of 7 am on Sunday. The epidemiological investigation is also being carried out in an efficient manner.

The batch of 877 boxes of imported shrimp were transported by cold chain vehicles to the freezing house from a market in Wuhan, 300 kilometers away from Xiangyang, on October 11. 

Some of the goods were then distributed to stores under two local supermarkets. All products sold in the markets have been sampled and returned negative tests for COVID-19 before December 7. 

Other goods stored in the house were not distributed or sold after December 7.

Shiyan's imported shrimp, which weighed 14,724 kilograms in total, was transported from Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province on November 14 and reached Shiyan via Wuhan on November 17. 

All the shrimp products were sealed and have not entered the market.