COVID-19, the disease that coronavirus causes, is thought to have come from Wuhan-based animal feed markets. In the first few days of the pandemic, many walked their dogs by masking their face. This was the scene in Hong Kong, especially, where a dog tested coronavirus positive passed away earlier in March 2020.
However, it seems that domestic pets are not carriers of coronavirus. This comes as a cause for relief to domestic pet owners, in particular.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) advises, “If you are not ill with COVID-19, you can interact with your pet as you normally do.” Almost every health organization echoes the aforementioned sentiment because we are yet to have any evidence that pets can become coronavirus-affected. This means they might or might not spread COVID-19.
However, as the owner, you still have to walk your dog or look after your cat just as you have been doing up to now. So you have to take whatever precaution necessary. This is to say, if you have signs or symptoms of COVID-19, you are better off restricting contact with others around you and your pet.
A healthy individual should be looking after any pet in their household. If you are alone and infected with this virus, wash your hands and put on a face mask before and following walking, feeding or otherwise interacting with your dog. If you need the protective mask, you might want to consider buying it online. A potential source for it for you would be hdfacemask.com as well.
Regard the aforementioned as ways of protecting your pet and everyone else around you from a possible spread of coronavirus. You must do the aforesaid because although we lack strong evidence that pets can carry coronavirus, they are likely to be the carriers. Veterinarians describe these possible carriers of coronavirus as ‘fomites’.
Let alone pets, even mundane things such as your tote bag could be fomites. China CDC has discovered that the stool of COVID-19-affected individuals contains live virus, so it could spread through both excrement, plus droplets of fluid from coughing and sneezing.
Therefore, when a coronavirus-affected individual coughs on the hand and pets his or her dog after that, the virus might just pass on to it. So, when touching pets, follow the aforementioned precautionary measures recommended by health organizations, celebrities and pretty much everyone else.