Beijing acid test Photo:VCG

 
New clusters of COVID-19 cases in a clothing store in Beijing may have been caused by imported clothes, the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday after carrying out an epidemiological investigation and gene sequencing tests.

A preliminary study showed that the virus sequence results from confirmed cases associated with Xiaojingege clothing store in Chaoyang district are the same as those on two batches of imported clothes, Pang Xinghuo, vice director of the Beijing CDC, said at a press conference on Thursday.

As of Friday, the Beijing CDC has traced 27 COVID-19 cases related to the Xiaojingege clothing store. 

Beijing on Thursday reported that two batches of imported clothes tested positive for COVID-19. Epidemiological investigation and close contact tracing have been carried out on confirmed cases and for the cargo.

The local CDC in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province issued an alert on Monday about the risk of COVID-19 from imported clothes and other express shipments amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in South Korea.

The number of COVID-19 cases has continued to pick up and people should be aware of the risk of transmission from cross-border express delivery packages, the Dalian CDC said.