Carrie Lam says the priority is to control the rise in cases partly caused by an outbreak in pet hamsters.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned that Covid-19 infections could be growing exponentially in one part of the city and more cases spreading due to an outbreak in pet hamsters.The spate of Delta cases had been linked to a pet shop worker which prompted officials to test hamsters, with some found positive.Ms Lam urged people to avoid gatherings ahead of next week's Lunar New Year as the territory also tackles an outbreak of the Omicron variant.
The Asian financial hub has some of the world's tightest coronavirus rules as it follows mainland China's tough zero-Covid policies. "We are worried that the exponential growth of cases that we have seen in other parts of the world is now happening in Kwai Chung," she is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.Image source,The outbreak was linked to an employee of this pet shop in the Causeway Bay area"I understand that pet owners are unhappy... the biggest public interest is to control the pandemic," she said.
Some 2,000 hamsters and other small mammals are set to be culled because of the outbreak linked to the pet shop. Officials say it may be an example of animal-to-human Covid transmission. Thousands of people have signed a petition against the move, and thousands more have offered on social media to save the pets.