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Hong Kong authorities have decided to euthanize 2,000 pet hamsters, saying that there is a possibility that the virus may have been transmitted to humans. Animal rights groups are protesting.
This is Beijing Correspondent Ji-Sung Kim. [
Reporter
] Agents in protective clothing enter a Hong Kong pet store.
After a while, they came out with several sacks, presumably containing hamster corpses.
Earlier, the store clerk was infected with the Corona 19 delta mutation, followed by the customer and the customer's family.
In Hong Kong, there has been no delta mutation infection for the past three months, but as a result of investigation by the quarantine authorities, 11 hamsters were found to have the same virus as a salesman.
[Edwin Chui / Hong Kong Health Center Controller: The possibility that the store clerk was infected from a hamster cannot be ruled out.]
The quarantine authorities said that it was the first time in the world that a hamster outside the laboratory was infected, and some mutations were also found in the store clerk's virus.
In the end, it was decided to euthanize all 2,000 hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits in the warehouse, and 150 customers who visited the store were also quarantined.
It has also temporarily suspended the operation of 34 stores that sell hamsters across Hong Kong.
[Leung Shu-Pai/Director of the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture and Fisheries: We plan to treat all animals (in the warehouse) humanely after conducting the COVID-19 test.]
Animal rights groups protested that there was a risk of being abandoned by other companion animals, saying that they made a hasty and harsh decision even though there was no confirmation that the hamster transmitted the corona.
Earlier, the Danish government had killed 17 million minks for spreading Corona 19 to humans, but the minister in charge resigned after criticism was raised.
(Video coverage: Choi Duk-hyun, video editing: Won Young-hee, CG: Ban So-hee, screen source: Hong Kong Myungbo)