Animals in 2 mink farms of Netherlands test positive for COVID-19

Team Udayavani, Apr 27, 2020, 7:24 AM IST

The Hague: Animals at two mink farms in the Netherlands have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture said Sunday that some staff at the two farms had earlier displayed symptoms of the disease so it is assumed that these are human-to-animal infections.

As a precaution, authorities are closing roads within 400 meters (yards) of the affected farms in North Brabant, which is the Dutch region the hardest hit by the coronavirus.

The minks are not the first animals infected with the coronavirus. The findings come after positive tests in two pet cats in New York state and in some tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo, adding to a small number of confirmed cases of the virus in animals worldwide.