Citizens should avoid purchasing goods from overseas high-risk areas for COVID-19 unless necessary and should be cautious when purchasing goods from areas where local COVID cases have been reported, the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned yesterday.

The CDC also reminded citizens to avoid direct contact with the outer packaging of these items, wear masks and gloves, keeps hand clean and disinfect when receiving packages and deliveries.

According to a municipal press briefing yesterday, the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Shenzhen is likely caused by contaminated imported goods based on current epidemiological investigations.

The CDC said that COVID-19 cannot persist in the environment without being attached to something, and its survival time is affected by a variety of factors such as temperature, humidity and the type of carrier.

It is easy to become infected by touching virus-contaminated items with one’s hands and then touching the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes. COVID-19 is easily inactivated by commonly used disinfectants such as alcohol, chlorine and peroxide disinfectants.

In another development, the CDC also warned citizens yesterday to take preventive measures in their daily lives, avoid direct contact with live poultry and eating sick or dead poultry meat, and practice good hand hygiene.

The neighboring city of Huizhou reported an H5N6 infection Friday. The patient is currently in critical condition and is being treated in a local hospital.

The case in Huizhou is an accidental one and the risk of virus transmission is currently low, according to the Shenzhen CDC.

H5N6 is a kind of avian influenza and an infectious disease caused by a subtype of the influenza A virus.

Humans are rarely affected by H5N6 bird flu, which generally spreads among birds. Human infection from bird flu is most commonly caused through contact with virus-infected live poultry, ill or dead poultry, or visits to contaminated live poultry wet markets.