China says they received Omicron by mail: Claiming an ‘ugly nation’ sent them poison

The Chinese government has thrown a new allegation into the ongoing investigation of COVID-19 outbreaks in the country – that the virus remains on a postal package from Canada . could be the cause of the Omicron outbreak in Beijing. Canadian officials have cast doubt on the scientific validity of that claim, but social media users on Weibo in China have seized on a new narrative that Canada deliberately sent the package as poison.

‘It’s reasonable to think that someone poisoned the package on purpose. Make sure you pay attention when sending international mail,’ said a Weibo user in the comments section of a post that has received over 50 million views. ‘The people of certain countries, the blackness in their hearts is powerful! Poisoning from a thousand miles,’ said another comment on a Chinese media report about the mailed document.

China announced on Monday that a man in Beijing tested positive for the Omicron variant after handling a 22-page document from Canada on January 7th. Officials said the man touched only the outside of the package, but traces of the variant were found inside. The Beijing CDC also reported that it tested 54 packages sent by ‘the same source’ and found traces of the Omicron variant in five of them. However, the CDC refused to identify the source. Canada’s reputation in China has plummeted amid the accusation.

Global Times reported that Canada was China’s least favorite country in its 2021 survey. Canada used to receive around three quarters of a million tourists from China each year, but tensions have been escalating between the countries since 2018, following Canada’s detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng was arrested on suspicion of violating US trade sanctions by Canada.

Social media is rife with talk about the Coronavirus being sent to China. The Chinese government has often attempted to shift responsibility for the spread of the virus away from itself. There is no evidence to support the ‘cold chain theory’, which suggests the coronavirus arrived in China via imported frozen food. Chinese media reported in November that traces of Coronavirus were found in frozen food imports in Dalian, the port city, and the country has begun testing its cold chain supply for the virus.

Health experts have said handling once-contaminated cold chain products will have a ‘very low probability’ of spreading disease. COVID-19 is unlikely to spread through once-contaminated surfaces such as glass, stainless steel, wood, cloth, and plastic after several days, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Chinese government has however instructed people to handle international mail outdoors with gloves, and to order fewer overseas packages. AFP reported that China Post told its workers to disinfect international packages and get booster vaccine shots on Monday.