An ice cream once a week keeps the stress and tension from work at bay. Still, recently the favorite treat wreaks havoc and panic when an ice cream in China tests positive for COVID-19, resulting in the quarantine or isolation of about 1,662 employees who works to produce the said comfort food.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 98,625 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and about 4,804 deaths in the country. However, Yahoo! Life notes John Hopkins University's data showing that China contracted a total of 4,979 deaths alongside the country's Health Commission, blaming the recent rise or surge of infections to travelers and imported goods in their country.
COVID-19 positive ice cream
Sky News reports that Anti-epidemic situated in North China's Tianjin Municipality is working hard to trace people who may have been in contact with the batches of ice cream produced by Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company.
They add that the ice cream samples from the Daqiaodao Food Company were sent to Tianjin Center Disease Control (Tianjin CDC) for testing. All of them tested positive, resulting in recalls of their product in the market.
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Due to the possibility that the ice cream was already added to the carts and basket or sat in the freezer of their citizens, Insider points out that shoppers who were able to buy the product are requested to report their health and movement to their respective community to monitor the spread and possible contraction.
Sky News points out that the initial epidemiological investigations suggest that the company produced the ice creams with ingredients such as milk powder from New Zealand and whey powder from Ukraine.
The company made 4,836 COVID-19 contaminated ice cream boxes in which 2,089 have already been sealed and contained in storage as of Sunday. They add that the authority is not tracking the stores that sold the dairy products.
Can COVID-19 survive in Food?
In an interview with Sky News, a virologist from the University of Leeds, Dr. Stephen Griffin, notes that the chances of the ice cream being contaminated with the coronavirus result from an issue with the hygiene issue within the factory.
He also explains that being in the cold temperature and the ice cream's fat content made the virus thrive on the authority samples.
This is the first time that the SARS-CoV-2 was seen thriving in Food because, according to WHO, the coronavirus needs a live animal or human host to thrive. They add that there is still no evidence that coronavirus can also live in food, including fruits and vegetables.
It is mind-boggling that comfort food like ice cream can be positive for COVID-19, which took place in China. Even with the vaccine's roll with the high efficacy rate, it is still better to follow the safety protocols to avoid contracting the notorious respiratory disease.
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