Border Officers Seize 30,000 ‘Made-in-China’ Necklaces Claiming to Provide Protection From COVID-19

A shipment of the "Virus Shut Out" products, which are marketed to protect against COVID-19 and contain the hazardous pesticide Chlorine Dioxide, was seized in Nogales, Ariz., on April 16, 2021. Courtesy of Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized 30,000 fraudulent Chinese-made necklaces that claimed to protect wearers from COVID-19.

The agents described the “Virus Shut Out” necklaces as similar to lanyards with a blue packet on them; the packets were filled with chlorine dioxide, which the packaging claims would “create an anti-bacterial cloud” that keeps the virus away when worn around the neck.