Dog Quarantined After Testing Positive for Coronavirus

A dog in Hong Kong has been placed in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19—but authorities aren't sure whether it has really been infected. Authorities say the pet dog of a 60-year-old coronavirus patient tested "weak positive" for coronavirus, Reuters reports. They say it is possible that the dog licked an infected surface or that the nasal and oral samples were contaminated, possibly by bodily fluids from the human patient, and more tests will be carried out. Sophia Chan, Hong Kong's health secretary, says authorities do not "have sufficient evidence to say that this particular pet would transmit to other people or pets, but it’s important for them to quarantine this particular dog and also continue their testing with the dog," reports RTHK. Authorities say that from now on, pets of infected people will be quarantined for 14 days, the New York Times reports. (More coronavirus stories.)