Market fish vendors should be tested for virus, expert says

Fish vendors in the wet markets of Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan should be tested for the coronavirus first, an infectious disease expert says.

Dr Leung Chi-chiu, who chairs the Hong Kong Medical Association's advisory committee on communicable diseases, told a radio program that if all the fish vendors test negative, the markets can be reopened, but if someone is diagnosed as infected, the scope of testing should be expanded or the markets closed for longer.

The Centre for Health Protection has confirmed yesterday ththat two were fish vendors in the Hung Hom Market, and a fish vendor at To Kwa Wan Market are infected.

As a result of the flow of people in and out of the wet market and the community outbreak, the virus could be introduced into the market. He believes the market outbreak is more likely to be related to the community coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Leung said regular shoppers at the wet markets do not need to be worried as it was unlikely that the spread of the virus was due to environmental contamination, but cross-infection between workers, RTHK reported.

"The amount of contamination is unlikely to be really high, and the risk is mainly, if any, is mainly among those who regularly handle fish in their occupation, such as food handlers, workers in abattoirs, workers in fish stalls and those who are regular handling all these cold products."

"The risk to the ordinary consumer should be very slow as long we take care of our hand hygiene and cook the food well before we consume it," Leung said.

Leung also told an RTHK radio program that the incident does not show that fish stalls are high risk, saying that markets are usually crowded places, and it would be quite easy for the virus to spread from person to person.