Hong Kong to cull 2,000 hamsters as some test COVID-positive
By ZEN SOO
Associated Press
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities say 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 Tuesday 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.