Hong Kong to kill 2,000 animals after hamsters get COVID-19

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities say they will kill about 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, after several tested positive for the coronavirus at a pet store where an employee was also infected. They say the city will also stop the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals. The pet shop employee tested positive for the delta variant on Monday (Jan. 17, 2022), and several hamsters imported from the Netherlands at the store tested positive as well. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says animals do not appear to play a significant role in spreading the coronavirus. But Hong Kong authorities say they are not ruling out transmission between animals and humans.