Lucknow: Two lionesses have tested positive for COVID-19 at Etawah Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh. Both the animals have been kept in isolation, said the park’s director.
Days after eight Asiatic lions at a Hyderabad zoo tested positive for COVID-19, Director of Etawah Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday informed about the infected animals here.
Giving further details, the director said that both the animals have been kept in isolation.
“Sixteen samples of 14 Asiatic lions at the Etawah Safari Park had been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) for RT-PCR tests for COVID-19. On Thursday, one lion tested positive for the virus, while another was considered as a suspected case. The remaining 12 lions have tested negative,” IVRI Joint Director Dr KP Singh told.
IVRI Joint Director also said that the chain of transmission of the virus could have taken place through any asymptomatic human carrier, probably caretakers, working at the park.
The safari park has already been shut for public.
The CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology had on Tuesday said eight Asiatic lions in the Hyderabad zoo have tested positive for COVID-19.
