Dog that flew from Thailand with owner quarantined in Irkutsk 'without right to go on walks'
IRKUTSK. April 17 (Interfax) - Animals arriving with their owners from coronavirus-hit areas have begun being placed in observation facilities in the Irkutsk region.
A transit passenger, whose destination was Krasnoyarsk, brought a spitz to Irkutsk International Airport on a plane from Bangkok on April 15, the press service for the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) for the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia said on Friday.
"On the basis of a directive issued by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance on April 8, 2020 N FS-SA-7/11036, the passenger was given an order, according to which, the animal and the owner had to be placed in an observation facility in Shelekhovo for 14 days without the right to take walks. Administrative liability is envisaged for violations of Part 8 of article 19.5 of the Russian Code of Administrative Violations," the press service said.
This is the first pet placed in an observation facility in the Transbaikal region, the press service told Interfax.
The press service said, citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health, that there is currently no evidence that humans can contract Covid-19 from cats and dogs.
"However, the infection is widespread among humans, and there is a risk of animals becoming infected as a result of their close contact with infected people," the press service said.
"There is information on the official website of the World Organization for Animal Health that several dogs, pet cats, and a tiger have been infected with Covid-19. Thus, work has been organized to issue citizens arriving with animals from countries hit by Covid-19 orders to be isolated for 14 days to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection in the pet population,'" it said.
Scientists from the Federal Animal Health Protection Center, which reports to Rosselkhoznadzor, in the city of Vladimir have come up with a method that will make it possible to test animals for Covid-19.