22 October 2020 11:40 am Views - 2746
With the emergence of the COVID-19 cluster at Peliyagoda Fish Market, people need not fear eating fish, Chief Epidemiologist Dr Sudath Samaraweera said.
However, he reminded that it was important to always wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds after shopping, handling food packages, or before preparing or eating food.
“An infected person can transfer the virus by coughing or sneezing on a surface, or touching their face and then touching a surface. If someone else were to touch the same surface and then their own eyes, mouth or nose, for instance, they could become infected,” he said.
The virus can live on different surfaces for several hours, but the period of the virus that can last on the surface of fish has not been determined yet, he said.
"Every time after preparing fish, it is recommended to wash and clean the hands using soap. Keep in mind not to touch eyes, mouth or nose without cleaning your hands," he said.
"By adhering to the recommendations issued by the Health Ministry, we can minimise the virus spread even if it lasted on the surface of fish," Dr Samaraweera added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)