Latest Hong Kong pets to test positive for Covid-19 are Scottish shorthair cat, Yorkshire terrier dog

HONG KONG — Two more family pets tested positive for Covid-19, pushing the total number of confirmed infections among Hong Kong animals to eight so far, the authorities reported on Wednesday (Aug 5).

The latest cases were a Scottish shorthair cat and a Yorkshire terrier that lived in Tsuen Wan and Sham Shui Po, respectively. Their owners were close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients, according to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD).

“When the owners were found to be close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases, the cat and the dog were sent for quarantine at the AFCD on July 31,” said the department in a statement.

“Samples collected from the cat and the dog by the department tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. However, neither of the animals has shown any symptoms at present. The AFCD will continue to closely monitor them and conduct repeated testing.”

Hong Kong reported the world’s first known case of Covid-19 infection in a pet in late February. The animal, which later died of seemingly unrelated causes, was a 17-year-old Pomeranian that belonged to a confirmed Covid-19 patient. Another four cats and one dog subsequently tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The AFCD recently opened a new animal quarantine site in Sha Tin after its facility at the Hong Kong Port at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was flooded with pets amid the city’s third wave of infections.

An AFCD spokesman said that there was currently no evidence that pets played a role in the spread of human Covid-19 infections.

“Pet owners should always maintain good hygiene practices and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets,” the department statement said.

The spokesman also asked pet owners to avoid kissing their animals, and to wash their hands before and after being around or handling the pets, their food or their supplies.

“People who are sick should restrict contact with animals,” the statement said. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST