This is a sensitive issue and it is our hope that it will remain an isolated case. However, in Hong Kong, a 60-year-old businesswoman named Yvonne Chow Hau Yee became infected with COVID-19 and was being treated. Authorities also quarantined her dog, and the tests revealed what everyone else feared: Her dog was also infected. As reported by the Daily Mail the AFCD made the following conclusion:
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The results of the [gene] sequence indicate that the virus probably spread from the infected individual(s) and subsequently infected the dog.
COVID-19 positive
So far, this was the first dog worldwide to be known to be infected with the coronavirus. Last month, the dog had achieved a "weak positive" result in five nasal and oral analyses. However, in two tests on the 12th and 13th of March, the animal tested negative and was allowed to return home.
All the more surprising was the news that a few days later, the 17-year-old Pomeranian died suddenly. But it remains unclear whether it was COVID-19 to which the dog succumbed because the owner did not release her dog for an autopsy.
Animals are still said not to be able to transmit the virus
In Hong Kong, all dogs living with a person infected with coronavirus are now to be quarantined. But researchers continue to assume that pets cannot become vectors. The World Health Organisation reassures and confirms this once again:
Although there has been one case of infection of a dog in Hong Kong, there is no evidence yet that a dog, cat or pet can transmit COVID-19.
It is now a matter of waiting and hoping that this will continue to be the case. If it turns out that pets can transmit the virus, it can become a lot harder to contain...
