The director-general of the Department of Fisheries has confirmed that COVID-19 could not be transmitted through aquatic animals and hygiene standard is strictly implemented with fishing crews and processing plants.
Meesak Pakdeekong, the director-general, said aquatic animals were cold-blooded and the outer layers of their cells were different from human cells and were not vulnerable to COVID-19. Besides, there had not been any report of infection with COVID-19 and other related viruses namely SARS and MERS among aquatic animals, he said.
The latest COVID outbreak started at the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon and spread to other provinces. Consequently, people were worried about the consumption of aquatic animals and the safety of fishermen, he said.
Mr Meesak said that his department was strictly checking the hygienic conditions of aquatic animal products as well as farmers, fishermen and processing plants for the safety of consumers.
He advised consumers buy products from qualified sources, refrain from touching aquatic animals with bare hands and clean them before cooking. COVID-19 would be killed with the heat of 56 degrees Celsius for a period of 30 minutes, he said. (TNA)
