A Chinese state-controlled news outlet first reported that the January 7th infection of a Beijing resident with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was the result of receiving a letter or parcel from Canada that passed through Hong Kong. The Chinese report attributed that scenario to the deputy director of the Beijing Centre for Disease Control in a briefing, even though organizations such as the World Health Organization and Canada Post say the risk of contracting coronavirus from a piece of mail is low.