Alarms go off over Taobao parcel with virus

Scores of deliverymen are being tested for Covid-19 to flush out silent carriers after a Taobao parcel from Inner Mongolia was found to have the virus.

The parcel contained clothing items purchased by a Hong Kong customer at the Single's Day sale.

It arrived on Saturday before samples taken by mainland authorities on the packaging tested positive.

The Centre for Health Protection said yesterday it received a notification from the Health Commission of Guangdong on Tuesday night.

"It is preliminarily confirmed that the parcel was sent from Inner Mongolia on November 7 and arrived at the address of the recipient in Hong Kong on November 13," the CHP said.

But it did not say which delivery company was responsible for the parcel.

"The recipient disposed of the external package immediately upon receipt and has washed the clothes contained in the parcel," the center said.

The recipient was required to undergo a Covid test and disinfect the household surfaces with which the parcel came into contact, it said.

The CHP said the parcel was stored at a local logistics warehouse, where all environmental samples collected tested negative yesterday.

It has asked all warehouse staff who might have come into contact with the parcel to get tested and advised the warehouse operator to pay attention to the environmental disinfection routines.

"In general, the Covid virus cannot survive over a few days in an environment that is not chilled, so the possibility of the concerned package carrying a transmissible live virus after arriving in Hong Kong is relatively low," the center said.

But it reminded the public to wash and disinfect their hands after touching purchased goods, especially items imported to Hong Kong.

Virus-carrying parcels from Inner Mongolia have also been found in Beijing as well as multiple mainland provinces, including Hebei and Henan.

Mainland customers receiving the parcels and deliverymen have been sent to quarantine centers by mainland authorities.

Mainland health experts have advised people to wear masks and put on disposable gloves while unboxing them and avoid bringing the outer packaging of the parcel home.

SF Express, one of the main couriers in the mainland and Hong Kong, told The Standard that all parcels it handled have been disinfected since the pandemic started. It added it will also disinfect all its branches, warehouses and delivery cars.

Hong Kong Disneyland, meanwhile, closed for a day yesterday to allow staff to take compulsory tests after an Indonesian helper who visited the park on Sunday tested preliminary positive.

The government issued a compulsory testing notice for anyone who had been at the park between 11am and 6pm on Sunday. The tests have to be taken before today ends.

The park said it closed "in an abundance of caution" and had advised guests who planned to visit yesterday to postpone it to another day.

It said it attaches great importance to the safety and health of staff and guests and will step up cleaning and disinfection.

Currently, around 94 percent of full-time cast members at the park have been fully vaccinated, it said.

The 29-year-old helper was suspected of being a re-positive case.

She tested positive in Indonesia in mid-October and her samples returned negative before coming to Hong Kong on October 15.

The helper completed quarantine at Penny's Bay on November 5 and tested positive on Monday. She had two vaccine doses before coming to Hong Kong.

The CHP is investigating another suspected re-positive case involving a 65-year-old man who arrived from Singapore on October 28.

He completed quarantine on November 10 and returned to his residence at Tower 3, Ocean Court, in Aberdeen. He tested positive on Monday.

Hong Kong recorded three imported cases from Pakistan and South Korea yesterday, taking the tally to 12,392 infections, including 213 deaths. All three cases have been vaccinated and were carrying the L452R mutation found in the Delta variant.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com