Beijing Supermarkets Rush To Remove Salmon Off Shelves After Covid-19 Found On Chopping Board

Beijing Supermarkets Halt Sale Of Salmon After Covid-19 Detected On Chopping Board

China is seeing a small surge in Covid-19 cases again, after confirming 11 new infections and 7 asymptomatic ones on Friday (12 Jun).

People have reason to be concerned that this may trigger a second wave of infections, especially after another incident shocked the city the same day.

Authorities had detected the novel coronavirus on a chopping board for imported salmon at Xinfadi Wholesale Market, according to China’s major English daily Global Times.

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As a result, major supermarket chains in the city spent all night rushing to take salmon meat off their shelves, fearing the spread of the virus.

TODAY Online reported that the market has been promptly closed at 7pm Singapore time.

Supply of local produce to continue despite virus on salmon chopping board

Major supermarkets in Beijing like Chaoshifa, Carrefour, and Wumart spent the entire night taking salmon off their shelves, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

For illustration purposes only
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To further contain the virus, authorities will also conduct checks at restaurants that require fresh and frozen meat, as well as seafood, for their operations.

Over 10,000 people at the market will need to test for Covid-19. Currently, 9 people working at the market had been put under quarantine, even though initial tests came back negative.

As these supermarket chains mostly rely on local produce, citizens can still expect a stable supply of commodities at these places like:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Meat
• Rice
• Noodles
• Oil.

Hopefully China’s quick action can contain spread

Despite a significant surge in Covid-19 cases at the start of the year, China was among the first few countries that seemed to have tamed the virus.

However, this latest episode threatens to throw a wedge in the republic’s recovery plans for now. What more, they had just reported 11 new infections yesterday (12 Jun), with 6 locally transmitted cases confirmed in Beijing.

Only time will tell if there will be a resurgence of the coronavirus. For now, let’s hope the authorities’ swift action will keep the outbreak under control.

Featured image adapted from Flickr and Oceana. Image on right for illustration purposes only.