A Pet Cat in Sejong Tests Positive for COVID-19... Third Case Nationwide

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] In Sejong, a pet cat belonging to a confirmed COVID-19 patient's family tested positive for COVID-19.

This is the third case nationwide of a pet testing positive for COVID-19, following Jinju in Gyeongnam and Seoul.

According to Sejong City on the 18th, a cat owned by the family of confirmed cases Sejong 201 and 205 tested positive for COVID-19.

The cat showed positive results in both the first and second diagnostic tests conducted by the City Health and Environment Research Institute's Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory (on the 16th) and the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (on the 17th).

This 2-3 year old cat had shown symptoms such as loss of appetite and decreased activity for a while but is currently reported to show no symptoms.

The cat is currently quarantined at home together with other family members of the Sejong 201 and 205 confirmed cases who tested negative for COVID-19.

A city official stated, "As far as we know, there have been no reported cases worldwide of pets transmitting COVID-19 to humans," and added, "The COVID-19 positive cat will undergo a quarantine period followed by detailed examinations to determine whether quarantine can be lifted."

Meanwhile, the city is currently checking whether confirmed patients have pets and if those pets show any suspicious symptoms during epidemiological investigations, following recent cases of pets testing positive in Jinju and Seoul.

Also, even if the owner is not confirmed positive, if there is a separate request for testing, pets can receive COVID-19 diagnostic tests through the Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.