The Dutch Agriculture Minister claims that a farmer has contracted COVID-19 after being exposed to an infected mink.
Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality Carola Schouten said in a Wednesday letter to parliament that her office’s initial assessment that humans could not be infected by animals was incorrect, according to Reuters. The infected person reportedly worked on a farm where the weasel-like creatures are bred for their fur.
Further details about the infected worker were not immediately available. Although Schouten said that the mink was responsible for passing the virus to the human, she said the risk of that form of transmission remains very low. Infected minks were first reported at Dutch farms in April when workers noticed they were having respiratory issues.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance to pet owners about social distancing after a pug named Winston tested positive for the virus in April. Two pet cats have also tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States. Tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York have also fallen ill during the pandemic.
