Covid-19: cold chain is hotbed and transmitted since autumn 2019
COVID-19 transmission in cold chain has been proved by scientific studies. According to analyses reports on factors of SARS-CoV-2 survival and transmission in different places and environments, especially the characteristics of low temperatures and object surfaces, it was found that SARS-CoV-2 could survive on surfaces of cold and moist objects in the cold chain for more than 3 weeks, potentially causing COVID-19 transmission. Studies have founded no reduction in SARS-CoV-2 titers or its ability to survive for 3 weeks in meat of inoculated chicken, pork, and salmon filets stored at the low temperature of - 20 C.
More findings suggested that early SARS-CoV-2 spread in Europe advanced the beginning of the outbreak to late autumn 2019. In-fact, the virus in cold chain spread to Europe through the North Atlantic route of Baltimore, such as France, Italy and other European countries has proven to be the earliest of COVID-19 cases in Europe broke out in areas near major ports and cold-chain storages.
More evidences also suggested that the virus had already been circulating a few months before the first case was found in January 2020. In Santa Catalina Brazil, SARS-CoV2 in human sewage was detected in two samples which were collected independently on 27 November 2019, and the test results shown that SARS-Cov2 has been circulating in Brazil since late Nov 2019, that was about 66 days earlier than the first reported case in the America (21 Jan 2020, USA) and 91 days in advance of the first case in Brazil.