In the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, fishermen won't be the only ones to have their mouths swabbed by authorities to test them for covid, as the fish they catch will now have to be tested too.

While China is still pursuing its "zero-covid" policy, Xiamen city officials are looking for ways to reduce as much as possible the risk of new cases emerging.

So they ordered the fishermen to take all the fish they catch to them so they can swab their mouths and thus test them for covid, it says "The Guardian".

According to the Xiamen Jimei County Political Committee, it was necessary to swab both the fishermen and the fish because some of them engaged in illegal trade or contact with overseas ships, "resulting in the importation of the coronavirus."

"Currently, all people in Xiamen City need to be tested for Covid, and the fish caught must also be tested," an employee of the Xiamen Municipal Ocean Development Bureau told local media.

Since they started testing, there have been no positive covid cases among fishermen and fish in the city.