Hong Kong kills 2,000 hamsters after a pet store employee catches COVID

Hong Kong will kill 2,000 hamsters as a precaution after a pet store employee and several adorable little rodents tested positive for the Delta variant of the coronavirus last week.

Follow arrive South China Morning Post, a Delta infection was discovered in a 23-year-old woman who worked at the Little Boss pet store — the city’s first untraceable Delta infection since the fall. Then, on Tuesday, 11 test samples taken from hundreds of hamsters tested positive, and authorities got in the way of the fluffy little creatures.

Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Dr Leung Siu-fai announced on Tuesday that about 2,000 hamsters will be killed. All customers who have purchased guinea pigs from the store after January 7 will be forced to hand over their pets for handling and owners will be required to undergo mandatory quarantine. The import of hamsters is also prohibited.

On top of that, anyone who purchases a hamster as a pet in Hong Kong from December 22 onwards will be tested for coronavirus and they are required to stay indoors until a negative result is received.

Extremely harsh measures were put in place though Hong Kong authorities admit that there is no “evidence” Pets can transmit COVID to people, but they said they must take precautions as a precaution. The Beijing-ruled city is copying China’s zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic even as much of the world has downplayed its rules.

“We assessed the risks of these lots as relatively high and therefore made our decisions based on public health needs,” Leung said Tuesday. “We urge all pet owners to adhere to strict hygiene when handling their pets and cages. Do not kiss them, leave them on the street… If people are keeping hamsters, they should keep them at home.”

Leung promises that the 2,000 young fluff will be handled “humanely,” and authorities are setting up a hotline for concerned hamster owners who have any questions about the rules. strict new regulations.

The The US Centers for Disease Control says the animal’s risk The spread of the virus to humans is “low” and there is “no evidence yet” that pets play any important role in the pandemic. However, humans seem to be able to transmit mild infections to their pets.

A possible exception is ferrets, which have been reported to infect humans on mink farms in Europe. In 2020, Denmark killed about 17 million mink after they were accused of spreading the virus, but the government has since admitted that at least some ferrets were improperly killed and buried.