Over a dozen people have tested positive for covid-19 after attending a birthday party for a cat in the Valparaiso region of Chile.
What We Know:
- The event that led to 15 new Covid cases was held in an apartment in Santo Domingo, Chile, where the cat owner and party’s host is speculated to be the patient zero, according to The Sun, who cited local reports. The cat’s birthday party was attended by 10 people who were consequently infected with the virus and were suspected to have passed it on to a further five family members and friends.
- Francisco Álvarez, the regional health secretary for Valparaíso, spoke of his disbelief of the story, saying, “When I heard it was a cat’s birthday party, I thought it was a joke — that they were probably trying to hide something.” “We have corroborated it with at least six of the 15 [infected] people who told us the same thing,” he added.
- Álvarez then speaks on his frustration and disdain for people who continue to gather in large groups amid the ongoing global pandemic. “It’s complicated and it’s a little incomprehensible, especially considering that what we have said in every way and emphasized is that if people are going to meet, they need to take safety measures,” he said.
- Prior studies have shown that cats can actually contract COVID-19. Last April, two cats in New York tested positive for the virus and became the first known pets in the United States to be infected with COVID-19.
- However, according to the CDC and USDA, “there is no evidence that pets play a role in spreading the virus in the United States.” The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council also expresses the same sentiment in their own statement.
As of Monday, at least 703,178 people in Chile have tested positive for COVID-19, while nearly 18,000 people have died from the virus, according to the New York Times coronavirus database.
