China on Thursday suspended the import of frozen seafood products from six Indian marine export companies for a week after Chinese customs claimed they found traces of coronavirus on the packaging. Since early last year, China has been testing imported frozen food products from all over the world. It has periodically suspended imports from companies after finding traces of the virus on the packaging. The General Administration of Customs of China in a press release said the traces of the virus were found on the outer packages of the seafood products from the six Indian companies and imports would be suspended for a week.
China has largely controlled the spread of the coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, with strict measures, though a handful of cases, largely attributed to those arriving from abroad, continued to be reported in the country. On Thursday, China's National Health Commission said six more locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, all in southern Guangdong province, and 15 new imported cases on the mainland were reported on Wednesday.
The origins of the COVID-19 remain a widely debated topic, with some scientists and politicians maintaining that the possibility of a lab leak of the deadly virus exists. China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is near the outbreak's known epicentre of Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in late 2019 and became a pandemic. More than 174 million confirmed cases have since been confirmed worldwide and at least 3.75 million deaths reported
Meanwhile, in another development, India on Thursday asked China to allow Indian citizens to travel to that country, especially those who work or study there, saying essential two-way visits should be facilitated keeping in view the fact that Chinese nationals are able to come to India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also said that India supports the need for a follow up to the WHO's report on the origin of the COVID 19, amid growing global calls to find out how the coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.