China not cod-ing about its zero Covid policy as it tests fish

China was not cod-ing when it said it remains committed to its zero Covid-19 policy. This week fish caught off the coast of Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province, were given nucleic acid tests alongside the fishermen who hauled in the catch.

China’s overzealous zero Covid strategy was made fun of by a Chinese media outlet, Sohu (搜狐新闻), who posted a video on its Weibo account yesterday. It received over 90,000 likes and more than 8,000 shares, bringing much mirth and merriment from its netizens in the comments section.

“I thought fish didn’t any lungs?”

“Covid doesn’t affect the lungs but the brain instead.”

“The fish should be grateful for receiving a Covid test for free.”

“You can’t get Covid if you don’t have lungs, let alone if you live in the sea.”

“Have we all gone mad?”

A Weibo-related hashtag on the testing of fish was read by 120 million people. Again, the comments were cutting.

One suggested the authorities should go further, incorporating marine life into the mandatory health code system, and ordering fish travelling from international waters into China’s territory to conduct seven days’ quarantine.

Someone else commented that the Chinese authorities should start testing mosquitos while another wondered whether parts of the sea would go into lockdown if some fish tested positive for Covid.

But there’s no catch, Xiamen Jimei district’s political and legal committee made it known it was necessary to swab both returning workers and their “materials” immediately upon disembarking each day because some fishers had made illegal trades or contact with overseas vessels while at sea, “resulting in the import of the coronavirus.”

Chinese news channels showed officials swabbing the mouths of fish and the underside of crabs.

A Xiamen Municipal Ocean Development Bureau employee said…

“At present, all people in Xiamen City need nucleic acid testing, and the fish catches must be tested as well.”

There was no report that any trace of the virus had been detected.

The US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in 2021 that there is no credible evidence of food or food packaging associated with, or as a likely source, of transmission.

SOURCE: Whatsonweibo The Guardian Financial Post