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SINN Féin TD Brian Stanley suggested that it might be possible to get Covid-19 by eating chicken imported from China.
r Stanley made the remarks during a radio interview at the beginning of the pandemic in March.
The host told him that “you have put the fear of God in people by eating chicken” and challenged him to endorse the comments.
TD Laois-Offaly is at the center of controversy over a tweet it posted over the weekend about the deaths of British soldiers in Ireland and another in 2017 that included a bizarre comment referring to the sexuality of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
Now an interview has emerged in which he participated in Midlands 103, where he makes unsubstantiated comments about the safety of chicken from China, the country where the coronavirus is believed to have originated.
He told host Will Faulkner on The Midlands Today Show that he had found out that chicken imported from China was sold in stores in Portlaoise, adding, “I mean that kind of thing is amazing.”
Mr. Stanley was asked if that represents a risk and he replied, “Well, I don’t know.”
When asked why he suggested it, he said, “You wouldn’t eat it for lunch, would you?”
Mr. Stanley was told that he had no basis for knowing if there was any danger.
Stanley said, “That’s exactly the kind of thing that needs to be examined. That’s my point.”
He said health experts need to tell people what is safe, citing travel and “questions about St. Patrick’s Day parades.”
Mr. Faulkner challenged him on where he read that eating chicken could lead to coronavirus.
Mr. Stanley said, “I don’t know and you don’t know.”
The presenter said, “But you have made that suggestion now. You have put the fear of God in people about eating chicken.”
Stanley said he said that people are afraid of parades, air travel and large gatherings.
Mr. Faulkner suggested that he was trying to get away from what he said and asked where he got information about the chicken.
Stanley said: “The voters have asked me a question about it.”
When asked if he was trying to find an answer for them, he said, “That is exactly what I am doing today.”
Faulkner later told listeners that “a simple Google search” of food safety authorities around the world reveals nothing to suggest that there is any evidence that you can contract the coronavirus from eating chicken or any other food.
The Irish Food Safety Authority’s website currently says that food poses no risk as COVID-19 is not transmitted through food or ingredients.
Online editors
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