A hamster surrendered to Hong Kong authorities by its owners tested positive with Covid-19, prompting the culling of over 2,200 hamsters as the city battles an outbreak of the virus.

After connecting a Covid-19 outbreak to a worker, officials ordered the death of hamsters from dozens of pet shops on Tuesday.

While a few hamsters had tested positive for the virus before, this is the first incidence of a hamster in the care of a pet owner testing positive.

Despite public uproar, authorities advised individuals to continue surrendering their pets because of the mounting health hazards.

“[The government] strongly advises members of the public again to surrender … as soon as possible their hamsters purchased in local pet shops on or after 22 December 2021 for humane dispatch,” the government said.

Thousands of individuals have offered to adopt hamsters that have been abandoned. It is worth mentioning that there is little indication that animals play a significant role in human coronavirus transmission, according to some scientists and veterinary authorities.

Furthermore, officials have warned that Covid-19 infections could be spreading rapidly in Kwai Chung, a congested residential district on the Kowloon peninsula, where a second building with 2,000 people was shut down for five days on Saturday.

After more than 20 cases were traced to the first Kwai Chung building, officials locked it down on Friday, with food being brought from outside three times a day and major testing underway.