Freshly caught fishes in China get virus swabs amid social media ridicule
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BEIJING • Even the fishes in the sea are getting caught in China's bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The authorities in the coastal city of Xiamen, in south-eastern Fujian province, are testing not only fishing crews for the virus daily but also their catch.
The practice has stirred debate and invited ridicule on social media amid an outbreak on the island of Hainan further to the south, which the government has said may have originated at a fishmonger's shop.
Xiamen's district of Jimei announced the testing late last month over fears that illegal trading with foreign fishermen could import the virus.
The regime involves testing both people and the things they have been in contact with, including fishes plucked from the water.
What caught the eye of netizens were pictures of fishes getting oral swabs, which some chose to interpret as a symbol of China's overzealous application of its zero-Covid-19 policies.
An official note said that fishermen must carry out Covid-19 tests daily during operations.
When they reach shore with their catch, both "humans and goods should be tested".
Netizens have said in jest that the tests could be expanded to mosquitoes, perhaps the worst spreader of disease among humans, or that the test results could be used to restrict the movement of fishes in the ocean.
Similar tests have been conducted on other animals, including chickens and cats, across China over the past couple of years, reported the South China Morning Post.
The regulations in Xiamen and other coastal areas highlight how China and other countries continue to differ, over two years into the pandemic, on the threat posed by food when it comes to transmitting the coronavirus.
Researchers in China have found that the virus can persist in conditions found in frozen food and packaging as well as cold-chain products, which are kept refrigerated.
They have also linked some infections in people to imported goods, although the degree of surface contact or amount of virus required is unknown.
The regime involves testing both people and the things they have been in contact with, including fishes plucked from the water. What caught the eye of netizens were pictures of fishes getting oral swabs, which some chose to interpret as a symbol of China's overzealous application of its zero-Covid-19 policies.
However, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last year that there is no credible evidence of food or food packaging associated with, or as a likely source of, transmission.
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