Hamster surrendered by public tests positive for Covid-19

A hamster surrendered by a member of the public tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced on Sunday.

As at January 22, a total of 2,581 animals, including 2,298 hamsters were killed. 

A spokesman said 77 hamsters had been surrendered to the department as at January 22 and Covid-19 tests had been conducted on 71 of them. 

Among the 113 samples taken from hamsters surrendered by members of the public, two samples drawn from a hamster collected on January 19 tested positive.

The spokesman “strongly advises” members of the public again to surrender to the department as soon as possible their hamsters purchased in local pet shops on or after December 22, 2021 for killing.

From January 17 to 22, the department collected a total of 1,793 animal samples from surrendered hamsters, small animals collected from all pet shops in Hong Kong selling hamsters, and a warehouse in Tai Po.

"Out of the 125 samples taken by the AFCD earlier on from a pet shop, Little Boss in Causeway Bay under the I Love Rabbit group, seven samples drawn from seven hamsters tested positive.

Separately, out of the 49 samples collected from another outlet in Causeway Bay under the same group, two samples from two hamsters also tested positive,” the spokesman said.

As for the 511 samples taken from the warehouse in Tai Po, one sample from a hamster also tested positive.

Furthermore, 34 environmental swabs taken earlier on from the group's three outlets in Mong Kok, three outlets in Causeway Bay, an outlet in Tai Po, an outlet in Yuen Long, and a boarding establishment in Causeway Bay as well as the Tai Po warehouse were also tested positive by the Centre of Health Protection.