Hamster to be reunited with owner after it tests negative again

A pet hamster previously blamed as the source of infection over the Wong Tai Sin Delta cluster will hopefully reunite with its owner after final confirmation that it is coronavirus free.  

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department had previously taken away the pet hamster from a household at Block 1 of Tropicana Gardens in Wong Tai Sin, where four Covid-19 cases were detected.

The hamster belongs to one of the patients - a 26-year-old man living in unit 5E of the residential block – who bought a hamster at I Love Rabbit pet shop in Mong Kok.   

The department said on Wednesday that the hamster tested negative for the coronavirus. In a further update, it told The Standard that the pet will be returned to the owner after the hamster returns a second negative Covid test result.  

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor blamed the hamster owner for not responding to authorities’ appeal to turn in the hamster - which he bought in early December last year.  

She said the transmission chain in Wong Tai Sin could be shortened if the man had undergone Covid testing earlier realizing he was among those at a higher risk of infection keeping a pet hamster.  

But the man bought the hamster before December 22 – whereas the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department asked citizens to surrender hamsters purchased on or after December 22 last year to be put down. The call came in the form of advice, not a legal requirement.   

The government earlier announced two batches of hamsters imported in Hong Kong from the Netherlands since December 22, along with other small animals seized at the Covid-hit pet shops in the territory, would be killed.   

The animals would be put down irrespective of their test results, according to the department. Around 2,500 small animals have been killed as of January 21, including some 2,000 hamsters.   

Meanwhile, the department said as of 5pm Wednesday, it has received 113 hamsters turned in by citizens. Of which, 100 of them have been put down, while four have “died naturally.”  

It added that among the hamsters they received, 104 of them were tested for the coronavirus. One tested positive for the virus.