WHO says ‘no evidence’ yet of COVID-19 infecting pets | ABS-CBN

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WHO says ‘no evidence’ yet of COVID-19 infecting pets

WHO says ‘no evidence’ yet of COVID-19 infecting pets

Kristine Sabillo,

ABS-CBN News

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Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Country Representative speaks to media at The World Health Organization (WHO) office at the Department Of Health (DOH) headquarters in Manila. February 12, 2020 Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News


MANILA — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday allayed fears that the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can infect animals.

“We have no evidence to date of COVID-19 infecting domestic animals,” said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, World Health Organization representative to the Philippines.

Last week, Hong Kong authorities reported that they had quarantined a pet dog after its nasal and oral samples tested “weak positive” for COVID-19.

“I can’t comment on this particular instance,” Abeyasinghe said of the report, adding it is the only case that the WHO is aware of and they are working with the animal health sector to understand how it happened.

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He explained that coronaviruses, which is a family of viruses that affects humans and animals, and that dogs can be infected with certain strains.

“Coronavirus infection in dogs result in dogs having acute diarrhea,” he said. But it doesn’t mean that it also applies to COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus that has infected more than 89,000 people worldwide.

"Past experience with coronaviruses and our current understanding of COVID-19 do not indicate that common household pets spread the disease or make people sick," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on Twitter over the weekend.

While experts believe that COVID-19 was originally transmitted to humans by a wild animal such as a bat, there is no information yet on its actual source.

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Palestinians note 'improvement' in aid to the Gaza strip, say it remains slow

Palestinians note 'improvement' in aid to the Gaza strip, say it remains slow

Reuters

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Palestinians on Friday (January 24) welcomed humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip in the wake of the newly agreed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but said they hoped for faster progress.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said humanitarian aid is entering Gaza through the Erez and Zikim crossings in the north and the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.

Video from the United Nations shows trucks driving in Gaza and Palestinians gathering at the central market in Deir Al-Balah after the latest deliveries.

The office said 653 aid trucks entered on Thursday (January 23), the fifth day of the ceasefire.

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OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement - the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Separately, a U.N. official told Reuters that funding shortages may affect the U.N.'s ability to maintain aid flows at target levels throughout the ceasefire deal.

(Production: Gerardo Gomez)

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