Salmon called unlikely virus source

Mutated strain that caused outbreak appears to have European origins

Experts said it is extremely unlikely for seafood like salmon to be the carrier of the novel coronavirus, which was found on cutting boards for imported salmon at Beijing's Xinfadi wholesale market, China's new hot spot of COVID-19 infection.

Beijing reported 36 new domestically transmitted cases on Saturday, all having direct or indirect links to Xinfadi market, the biggest wholesale food and vegetable market for the city. The market has been shut down to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Zeng Guang, a senior researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday that, based on preliminary analysis of the two early cases, the coronavirus strain in the latest outbreak is different from the ones found in China, and early data suggest it is a mutated variety from Europe.