Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos responded to an allegation from China that the Omicron variant could have been passed to a Beijing man via mail from Canada.
The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention said a man had been exposed to Omicron after handling a 22-page document from Canada. Beijing's CDC said that the possibility of contracting the virus through foreign items can't be ruled out. The document was sent on January 7 and received on January 11.
He said he would first listen to the advice of experts in Canada's public health agency.
He told reporters that he found the view to be extraordinary. I am not an expert doctor or a Biologist, and I will ask the right people to give me the right advice.
China's strict Covid-zero policy has been strained in recent months as it battles fresh outbreaks coupled with locally-transmitted Omicron cases in its biggest cities, and the administration is taking no chances ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Chinese people have been told to handle international mail outdoors and to order fewer overseas packages.
China Post told its workers to get booster shots for COVID-19, and to suck on international packages.
The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have long said that the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 is low after a few days.
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