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People are screened at a clinic in Huanggang, in China's central Hubei province (file photo) Image caption: People are screened at a clinic in Huanggang, in China's central Hubei province (file photo)

A number of people in central China have been fined and told to self-isolate after they bought imported pork online that could potentially have been contaminated with Covid-19.

According to the national Global Times newspaper, 24 residents in Huanggang, central Hubei province, have been fined 200 yuan (£23; $30.50) for buying imported pork from Brazil via the Meituan shopping platform.

The pork should have been destroyed rather than sold because, as the newspaper notes, batches had already tested positive for Covid-19 . An investigation is now being carried out into the shopping platform.

One of the big concerns in China is how imported food might carry the virus, and so the country is stepping up regulation to prevent ordinary consumers from directly getting their hands on such goods.

This week, China's top court announced that e-commerce platforms could be "held legally responsible for food safety issues related to products purchased on their platforms".

China says that many of its localised Covid-19 outbreaks over the last year have been linked to imported cold-chain goods, and there are regular news stories about coastal regions discovering the virus on overseas goods. Many of the first patients in cities that have experienced outbreaks have been workers who handle such products.