Hamsters infected with Covid-19: Hong Kong has 2,000 small animals killed

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Dwarf hamster (icon picture)

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Around 2,000 small animals are to be culled in Hong Kong after eleven hamsters tested positive for the delta variant of the corona virus.

However, Health Minister Sophia Chan stressed that there was no evidence pets could transmit the virus to humans.

However, one should still pay attention to hygiene when dealing with the animals hamsters, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environmental Protection.

Hamsters and other small rodents such as chinchillas from 34 pet shops are now to be killed "humanely".

Owners of a hamster bought after December 22, 2021 should hand over the animal to the authorities.

The hamsters imported from the Netherlands tested positive in a pet shop where an employee worked, who was diagnosed with the infection on Monday.

The city also banned the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals. "If you have a hamster, keep it inside and don't take it outside," Agriculture Minister Leung Siu-fai told a news conference. Anyone who comes into contact with the animals or their food should wash their hands afterwards. "Don't kiss your animals," he added.

Authorities acknowledged there was no evidence of pet-to-human transmission of the coronavirus. However, this cannot be ruled out. As a precaution, all customers of the affected pet shop who bought hamsters after January 7 would be tracked and quarantined. They would also have to hand over their animals to the city for culling. Hamsters bought from December 22 and their owners are required to be tested and banned from leaving the house without a negative result. All shops selling hamsters in Hong Kong have to shut down.

Hong Kong is following China's line of keeping the coronavirus under control while the rest of the world is largely coming to terms with it.

After three months without a single local transmission of Covid-19, the city has been battling a new outbreak since the turn of the year.

Dozens of cases have been attributed to the omicron variant.

Thousands of citizens were sent to quarantine in a makeshift shelter.

On Monday, police arrested two former Cathay Pacific employees who arrived from the US for Christmas and allegedly broke quarantine rules by engaging in "unnecessary activities" such as visiting restaurants and bars.

They were later diagnosed with omicron infection.

ak/Reuters/AP