NEW DELHI

The mouths of fishermen in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen are being swabbed for Covid-19, as well as the fish they catch, according to a media report.

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As China maintains its zero Covid commitment, city officials are working to ensure there is no way for the virus to enter, ordering all fishers and their catch to undergo a daily nucleic acid test, according to The Guardian.

According to the political and legal committee of the Xiamen Jimei district, 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."

"At present, all people in Xiamen city need nucleic acid testing, and the fish catches must be tested as well," an employee at the Xiamen municipal ocean development bureau told local media. 

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According to The Guardian, television news reports showed officials swabbing the mouths of fish and the undersides of crabs. There have been no reports of the virus being detected.

The rules were published late last month and made headlines this week, causing social media users to laugh.

A related hashtag was read 120 million times and discussed by over 6,000 people on Weibo.

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One popular comment said: "Absurd, this embodies decades of strangeness."

Another suggested that the authorities go even further, incorporating marine life into the mandatory health code system and requiring fish entering China's territory from international waters to undergo a seven-day quarantine.

China has remained steadfast in its commitment to zero COVID, a policy that has garnered widespread domestic support but has also irritated many citizens.

According to The Guardian, the resource-intensive efforts have resulted in city-wide lockdowns, travel restrictions, and frequent nucleic acid testing requirements for citizens.

A viral video last week showed customers at an Ikea showroom outnumbering security guards in order to push through doors and avoid being locked inside after a snap quarantine order was issued to the store.

(With inputs from agencies)

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