A fish was swabbed for COVID-19 testing in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen, The Guardian reported on Thursday, 18 August.
The logic behind this, according to the Xiamen Jimei district’s political and legal committee, is that it was necessary to swab not just workers at sea but also their 'materials'. Some fishermen, it continued, had made illegal contact with overseas vessels, "resulting in the import of the coronavirus."
“At present, all people in Xiamen City need nucleic acid testing, and the fish catches must be tested as well,” a Xiamen municipal ocean development bureau employee told Chinese local media.
China has stuck to its zero-COVID policy due to which people have witnessed snap city-wide lockdowns, severe and sudden restrictions on travelling, and nucleic acid testing requirements for citizens.
Devastating videos have emerged in the past showing how the policy has been affecting people. For instance, last week, a viral video showed people at IKEA pushing through doors to escape the store after a snap quarantine order was issued.
In a another video that has went viral on social media in April, residents of Shanghai could be heard screaming from their balconies and windows as the city endured one of the strictest lockdowns that the country has imposed since the beginning of the pandemic.
(With inputs from The Guardian.)