‘I appeal to you – eat this fish’: Sri Lankan politician bites into raw fish during bizarre press conference to prove it will not give people coronavirus
- Former fisheries minister Dilip Wedaarachchi, 63, bit into the medium-sized fish
- Tens of thousands of tonnes of fish been left unsold after the Central Fish Market
- The outbreak in the main wholesale market has led to thousands of infections
A Sri Lankan politician bit into a whole raw fish during a press conference to prove it will not give people coronavirus.
Former fisheries minister Dilip Wedaarachchi, 63, bit into the medium-sized fish in Colombo on Tuesday to encourage sales following a slump from the pandemic.
Tens of thousands of tonnes of fish have been left unsold after the Central Fish Market was forced to close following an outbreak which caused prices to fall.
Former fisheries minister Dilip Wedaarachchi, 63, bit into the medium-sized fish in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday to encourage sales following a slump from the pandemic
Mr Wedaarachchi said: ‘I brought this fish to show you. I am making an appeal to the people of this country to eat this fish.
‘Don’t be afraid. You will not get infected by the coronavirus.
‘We eat this raw. I will eat and show you,’ he said before biting into the whole fish.
He continued: ‘Our people who are in the fisheries industry cannot sell their fish.
‘The people of this country are not eating fish and owners of multi-day fishing boats cannot afford to go to sea.’
‘Don’t be afraid. You will not get infected by the coronavirus,’ he said, before taking a bite out of the whole fish
Mr Wedaarachch, who served as the fisheries minister until last year, ended: ‘They are in debt because they couldn’t sell their fish’
Mr Wedaarachch, who served as the fisheries minister until last year, ended: ‘They are in debt because they couldn’t sell their fish.’
Fish sales in the country have fallen after a major coronavirus cluster emerged in the Central Fish Market in the outskirts of the capital last month.
The outbreak in the main wholesale market has led to thousands of infections and spread across the country.
Fish sales in the country have fallen after a major coronavirus cluster emerged in the Central Fish Market in the outskirts of the capital last month
The country has confirmed 17, 831 cases of the coronavirus, including 61 deaths.
The Food Standard Agency in the UK said it is ‘very unlikely’ that you can catch coronavirus from food.