A former Sri Lankan fisheries minister chomped on a raw fish at a Tuesday press conference as seafood sales in the nation have plummeted over coronavirus concerns.

“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,” Dilip Wedaarachchi said before biting into the fish.

Last month, the Central Fish Market outside the nation’s capital, Colombo, was the site of a major coronavirus outbreak that led to thousands of countywide infections.

Since then, fish sales — and consumption — in Sri Lanka have plunged. Tens of thousands of tons of fish have gone unsold.

“Our people who are in the fisheries industry cannot sell their fish. People of this country are not eating fish,” Wedaarachchi said at the news conference.

With Post wires