Hong Kong to cull hamsters and quarantine pet store visitors over Covid fears

Additional than 1,000 hamsters will be culled and about 150 pet keep website visitors sent to governing administration quarantine services in Hong Kong as metropolis officials responded to fears of animal-to-human coronavirus transmission.

Wellness officers in the Chinese territory released the probe into the hamsters imported from the Netherlands following a pet retail outlet personnel who had been given two BioNTech vaccinations tested optimistic for coronavirus. A quantity of hamsters and a shopper also tested positive.

Sophia Chan, Hong Kong’s overall health secretary, reported the choice was created even although there was no sizeable evidence that pets could transmit Covid-19 to humans. “For the sake of prudence, we have to choose precautionary steps towards any transmission prospects,” she informed a push briefing.

The cull will include things like other animals that arrived not long ago in the metropolis which include rabbits and chinchillas, and imports of animals will be suspended. All pet merchants that offer hamsters have been compelled to shut for inspection and cleansing.

The Hong Kong governing administration has imposed some of the world’s toughest pandemic-regulate actions as it has sought to align with China’s zero-Covid policy, such as banning passenger and transit flights and forcing overseas arrivals to endure hotel quarantine for up to 3 months.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s main govt, has vowed to look into accusations that Cathay Pacific, the city’s flagship provider, abused quarantine exemptions for crew.

Two previous Cathay flight attendants ended up billed on Monday for allegedly breaching household isolation principles after they analyzed positive for the Omicron variant, drawing accusations of seeding a community outbreak.

The city’s leaders have also been rushing to consist of a general public backlash after 15 senior officers attended a karaoke celebration with about 200 attendees this month in contravention of formal suggestions to stay away from significant gatherings. Two of the company tested constructive and extra than 100 had been despatched to a government quarantine centre.

“I can pledge that the two our investigation into Cathay Pacific as properly as government officers attending the [karaoke party] will not vanish into obscurity,” Lam explained at a push briefing.

In China, authorities are also intensifying limits regardless of fairly number of conditions compared with other countries.

Officers have urged men and women to obtain fewer overseas merchandise and a logistics centre close to Beijing’s international airport was shut for testing immediately after it was suspected that Covid was detected on parcels.

The raising surveillance of abroad write-up arrived as fears rose that the unfold of the Omicron variant could disrupt the Beijing Winter Olympics subsequent month. Pang Xiaohuo, deputy director of the Beijing Centre for Disease Manage and Avoidance, explained on Monday that the capital’s first Omicron client had received a letter from Canada at the start off of January.

Global overall health authorities, like the Environment Wellbeing Organization, have performed down the chance of coronavirus transmission by means of freight and logistics networks.

As part of its rigid zero-Covid technique, Chinese authorities have imposed severe travel limits and lockdowns that have influenced as several as 20m people today. The measures bundled required screening in Tianjin, a northern port town of 14m the place the 1st domestic Omicron scenarios were being documented this thirty day period, and a lockdown in Xi’an, a town of additional than 13m.

Organisers of the Winter Olympics stated tickets would not be bought to the general public as the region tackles outbreaks throughout various provinces.

New community transmitted circumstances of the very infectious variant ended up reported in 5 metropolitan areas and provinces on Tuesday, while the Nationwide Well being Fee documented 127 new community circumstances on Monday, down from 163 the previous day.

“[I]t has been decided that tickets ought to not be bought any additional but be element of an tailored programme that will invite teams of spectators to be existing on website during the Video games,” organisers said.

Further reporting by Maiqi Ding in Beijing

​Letter in reaction to this posting:

Culling pets more than Covid fears is a stage far too far​ / ​From Huan Huan Wong, Hong Kong