Hong Kong (AFP)
The dog of a woman infected with the coronavirus has been placed in quarantine in Hong Kong after samples taken from the animal have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities announced on Friday, although there is no risk of contagion from the animal. company with man is not proven.
The dog has no symptoms of the disease, said the Hong Kong Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environmental Protection.
But "samples taken from the nasal and oral cavities were tested weakly positive for the Covid-19 virus," said a spokesperson, who did not specify what initially prompted the authorities to carry out tests on the animal.
The dog was recovered Wednesday at the home of its owner, a sixty-something woman who had watched it tested positive and hospitalized in solitary confinement.
There is no evidence that animals such as cats or dogs could transmit the virus to humans, but the ministry estimated that pets of infected people should be placed in quarantine for 14 days in dedicated shelters.
The head of the former British colony's health services, Sofia Chan, said more tests would be done on the dog, which would remain in solitary confinement until it was "tested negative".
Hong Kong has 93 cases of coronavirus, including two people who died.
© 2020 AFP