Thousands of people in Hong Kong volunteered to adopt unwanted hamsters after a mass cull order from the government over COVID-19 fears raised alarm that panicky owners would abandon their pets reut.rs/3nGZt7X 1/5
Authorities ordered 2,000 hamsters from dozens of pet shops and storage facilities to be culled after tracing a coronavirus outbreak to a worker in the Little Boss petshop, where 11 hamsters subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 2/5
Scientists around the world and Hong Kong health and veterinary authorities have said there was no evidence that animals play a major role in human contagion with the coronavirus 3/5
But having pursued a policy of zero tolerance for COVID-19, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said she could not rule out any transmission possibilities and therefore the government could take no chances 4/5
Vanessa Barrs, professor of companion animal health at City University of Hong Kong, said fears of infection at home were overblown.
'The theoretical risk is there, but it just doesn't happen,' Barrs said reut.rs/3nGZt7X 5/5
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