Local governments told to drop COVID tests on some imported goods

China's health authority said on Tuesday that local governments no longer need to test some imported goods for the coronavirus.

China began testing the packaging of chilled and frozen food imports for the virus in June 2020, after a cluster of infections among workers at a wholesale food market in Beijing.

Six months later, Beijing also advised testing on ambient products, too.

Local governments no longer need to test ambient foods or other goods for the virus, said the National Health Commission on its website yesterday.

Chilled and frozen foods will continue to be tested, however, but exporters will not face import suspensions when their goods test positive at customs checks, added the NHC.

China has linked previous COVID-19 outbreaks among dock workers with the detection of the virus on frozen food.

The virus has been detected on hundreds of chilled and frozen food shipments since 2020, with major suppliers of meat, seafood and other products suspended for weeks.