Chinese social media is full of videos showing fish and crabs being tested with PCR tests.
More than five million people in China’s coastal city of Xiamen have had to be tested for covid-19 after nearly 40 cases of the virus were identified this week.
Humans weren’t the only ones to be tested: An official warning states that some marine life should also be included in the mass testing wave.
In recent weeks, the Jimei District Marine Pandemic Control Committee in Xiamen has issued a statement saying that “both fishermen and their fish and seafood must be tested” when boats return to ports.
As a result, video footage has surfaced on various social media platforms, including Douyin, in the midst of this latest outbreak. Native version of TikTok in China? shows that healthcare professionals are performing PCR-type tests on live fish and crabs.
‘This is not the only place that does this’
While this may seem unusual, this isn’t the first time live fish have been tested for Covid-19.
An official from the Xiamen Municipal Ocean Development Bureau told the South China Morning Post that the government has learned “many lessons” from Hainan. Who is experiencing a serious epidemic of the disease.
The presenter stated that the epidemic in that province may have been triggered by the buying and selling of seafood and fish between local fishermen and their colleagues abroad.
The southern Chinese province of Hainan, a coastal region like Xiamen, has reported more than 10,000 cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of August, and officials said they believe the outbreak is likely linked to the fishing community.
Chinese media have long expressed concerns that marine life may have links to the coronavirus. The first covid-19 outbreak was traced to a live animal and seafood market in the city of Wuhan.
While seafood is unlikely to host the virus, most outbreaks in China have been linked to dockers, frozen produce workers, or fish market workers.
One such outbreak in Beijing in June 2020 caused panic. State media said the Covid-19 virus was detected on the boards used to cut imported salmon. Not only has this prompted restaurants and supermarkets to pull salmon from their shelves, it has also stopped imports.
Panic spread across the country with a widespread fear of eating the fish.
Fish isn’t the only animal tested for Covid-19 during China’s efforts to eradicate the virus over the past two years.
In May, official media published images of a hippopotamus being tested at a nature reserve in Huzhou, east of Zhejiang, saying the animal needed to be tested twice a week.
There are also videos on Chinese social media showing dogs, cats, chickens, and even pandas doing PCR-type tests.
State media’s rationale for the tests was to “ensure the safety of animals” and visitors to places where animals live.
source: Noticias
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