No risk of Covid-19 from consuming seafood, fisheries official assures
There is no reason for people to avoid consuming seafood after a woman who ran a seafood shop in the Samut Sakhon prawn market tested positive for Covid-19, a senior official at the Department of Fisheries has said.
Subsequent to the case in the province, the Department of Disease Control reported on Friday that 13 people of 2,000 who were tested were positive.
“So far there has been no report of the Covid-19 virus being found in seafood products,” Wichan Ingsrisawang, deputy director-general of the department, said.
“Viruses of the same family, such as SAR, CoV2 and MERS, have never been found in aquatic animals that are cold-blooded.”
Wichan added that the department has employed strict measures of international standard to inspect and control the quality of seafood from all sources. “Seafoods from farms have to pass the good aquaculture practices standard, while those caught by fishing boats must also pass sanitary evaluation before reaching the market,” he said.
“Also, the department has performed random testing of seafood at markets periodically to ensure consumers' safety.
“During the Covid-19 outbreak, the department has mandated that fishing boat crews must undergo Covid-19 screening procedures before leaving or entering the piers, and has told seafood processing factories to enforce strict sanitary measures to make sure that their products are contamination free and safe for consumption.
“However, consumers should always pick seafood that are fresh and clean, as well as properly cook them before eating, for sanitary reasons,” he added.