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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Rebecca Speare-Cole

Pet dog of coronavirus patient 'contracts low level of Covid-19'

People work on a production line for prototype face masks at Mask Factory, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus (Picture: REUTERS)

The pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has tested positive for a mild level of Covid-19, authorities have said.

After the dog's nasal and oral samples were tested, the results came back with a "weak positive" - a low level of coronavirus.

But the Hong Kong authorities said that there is not yet evidence that the virus can be transmitted to pets.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said it would conduct further tests to confirm if the dog had been infected with the virus or if the samples were the result of environmental contamination.

A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the COVID-19 (AP)

"At present, the AFCD does not have evidence that pet animals can be infected ... or can be a source of infection to people," it said in a statement.

The dog will be put under quarantine for two weeks.

Paramedics wearing personal protective equipment carry patient on a stretcher in North Point district in Hong Kong (Getty Images)

The World Health Organisation website said so far there has been no evidence that companion pets can be infected with the coronavirus.

Several users on Chinese social media site Weibo expressed concerns for the safety of animals if people believed they were an infection risk.

Hong Kong has reported 93 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections in humans, and two fatalities.

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