China, Norway agree salmon not source of virus resurgence in Beijing

Chinese and Norwegian authorities have concluded salmon from Norway was not the source of the coronavirus found on cutting boards at Beijing's Xinfadi  wholesale market, Norway's fisheries and seafood minister said on Wednesday.

"We can clear away uncertainty," Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen told a video conference.

Chinese and Norwegian officials had decided on Tuesday the virus outbreak did not originate in fish from Norway, he added.

Hong Kong.is also a leading buyer of Norwegian farmed salmon.

The coronavirus epidemic in the Xinfadi wholesale vegetable and meat market was caused by human-to-human transmission or infections caused by environmental contamination, the Beijing Municipal Government said on June 16.

Later, in an interview with CGTN, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said: “It clearly indicated the virus strain is a major epidemic strain in the European countries. So, it is from outside of China brought to Beijing.” While the strain is prevalent in Europe it could have come from other regions.

“Maybe from the United States or from Russia,” said Wu. “So, the European strain is very prevalent in many, many different countries. It is not in China,” he said.

China halted imports of European salmon after reports on Saturday that the virus was discovered on equipment used for handling fish at Beijing's Xinfadi vegetable market, which also sells meat, prompting supermarkets in the Chinese capital to remove salmon from their shelves.

Norwegian salmon producers saw orders from China cancelled over the weekend, although Norway's Food Safety Authority said there was no evidence fish could be infected.

The Norwegian Seafood Council, a state-run marketing company, told Reuters that some shipments of salmon were being sent to major Chinese cities, with the exception of Beijing.

One salmon exporter, who declined to be named, said that some exports went through to China but most were still on hold.-Reuters/Chinese state media