Researcher Els Broens told Dutch public broadcaster NOS radio that she did not necessarily believe that cats contributed to the spread of the virus. “Transmission between humans is most important, and cats play a negligible role,” she said in an interview this week.
The research is being carried on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture Carola Schouten who wants to know if a sick person can infect a cat, or if the virus spreads from cat to cat, according to NOS. Schouten has also commissioned research into transmission of the virus in pigs.
On Sunday the ministry confirmed that Covid-19 had been found in mink at two separate fur farms in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant.
The breeders diagnosed the Coronavirus in several animals, repored Minister Schouten. The animals had gastrointestinal complaints and breathing problems. The ministry has assumed human to animal contamination, because some employees of the companies in Beek en Donk and Milheeze showed symptoms of the virus.
The NOS has since been inundated with calls from concerned citizens with more than 10 000 queries about whether the Coronavirus can be contracted through contact with cats.
Citizens also wanted to know if is spread through the air and if homemade mouth masks protect against Covid-19.
There are currently no facial masks available for hairdressers and other contact professions in the Netherlands. Health Minister Maarten Van Rijn said: “For the time being, all attention is needed for healthcare, because all healthcare employees must be able to work in a protected manner.”
He added that “we don’t have that luxury for the time being” of distributing more masks.
“We have procurement, reuse and production in our own country. […] We may be able to help with the acute shortages, but we are not there yet.” PVV leader Geert Wilders blamed the minister’s health cuts for the shortages.
Van Rijn (PvdA) en Schippers (VVD), beiden eerder verantwoordelijk voor miljarden-mega-bezuinigingen in de zorg, pronken nu met mondkapjes die er natuurlijk al veel en veel eerder hadden moeten zijn. #corona #mondkapjes #mondmaskers pic.twitter.com/4DN6sTaRIs
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) April 28, 2020
It is expected that the cabinet will decide not to relax confinement measures. Hairdressers, among others, will not be able to work for the time being.
The public health institute RIVM meanwhile said the chance of being infected by a pet is very small, but those who show symptoms should not cuddle their pets or be licked by them. They should also ask someone else to take their dogs for a walk, the RIVM suggested.
There have been some reported cases of Coronavirus infection in animals, including a tiger in New York and two cats in Hong Kong. The virus was also found in a sick cat in Belgium.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.