Hong Kong authorities 2,000 small mammals will be slaughtered, including hamsters, they announced Tuesday after several rodents at a pet store where an infected person worked tested positive for Covid.
Authorities also said that would stop the sale and import of small mammals in the city. The measures were announced after the store clerk tested positive on Monday at the delta variant of the virus. Several of the store’s hamsters that had been imported from the Netherlands also tested positive.
“If you have a hamster, you should keep it at home, not take it out,” department director Leung Siu-fai told a news conference.
The pet house where the outbreak was detected. Photo: AP
“All pet owners should observe good personal hygiene and, after coming into contact with animals and their food, should wash their hands.”
“Don’t kiss your pets” he added.
Although the authorities admitted that “no test” that pets can transmit the coronavirus to humans, as a precautionary measure it would be identified and mandatory quarantine for customers they had bought hamsters from the affected store after January 7.
They must also hand over the animals to the authorities. to sacrifice them.
The pet store closed and cordoned off. Photo: AP
Authorities added that all pet shops selling hamsters in Hong Kong must stop operations and some 2,000 animals, including hamsters and chinchillas, would be humanely euthanized.
In addition, customers who purchased hamsters in Hong Kong from December 22 tests would be mandatory and they would be urged to isolate themselves until they knew they had tested negative. If your hamsters test positive, they will have to quarantine.
Authorities said they would not rule out for the time being infections between humans and animals.
Authorities said they would not rule out human-animal transmission for the time being. Photo: Reuters
Arrests for breaking quarantine
On the other hand, the territory’s police arrested two former flight attendants on Monday for allegedly leave their homes when they should have been in isolation due to possible contagion of coronavirus, confirmed later.
The two had arrived from the United States on December 24 and 25. While under medical supervision, they engaged in “unnecessary activities,” according to a government statement released Monday night.
Although the statement did not name their employer, the arrests were made after the flag carrier Cathay Pacific announced that it had fired two crew members for breach the protocols against coronavirus. Both later tested positive for the omicron variant of the virus.
Associated Press
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