Hong Kong to cull 2,000 hamsters as some test COVID-positive

Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will cull some 2,000 hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for the virus at a pet store where an infected employee was working.Officials said they would also stop the sale and import of the rodents in the city.

Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will cull some 2,000 hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for the virus at a pet store where an infected employee was working.

Officials said they would also stop the sale and import of the rodents in the city. The move came after the pet shop employee tested positive for the delta variant on Monday. Several of the hamsters tested positive for the coronavirus as well.

Even though authorities acknowledged that there is "no evidence" that pets can transmit the coronavirus to humans, as a precautionary measure, customers who had purchased hamsters from the affected store after Jan. 7 will be traced and must be subject to mandatory quarantine.

They must also hand over their hamsters to authorities to be put down.

Authorities said that all pet stores selling hamsters in Hong Kong must cease operations and that around 2,000 of the small animals will be culled in a humane manner.

Customers who bought hamsters in Hong Kong from Dec. 22 will also be subject to mandatory testing and are urged not to go into the community until their tests have returned negative.

For now, authorities said they would not rule out transmission between human and animals.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)