At least 18 of the 20 gorillas at Atlanta’s zoo have tested positive for COVID-19. Employees had noticed the gorillas were coughing and had runny noses. Officials say there’s no evidence the gorillas can pass the virus back to humans.
Western lowland gorillas are seen in their habitat at Zoo Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Atlanta. Nearly all of the zoo's 20 gorillas are showing symptoms of having contracted the coronavirus from a zoo staff worker, according to zoo officials. The confirmed cases of those gorillas tested have come back positive for the COVID-19 Delta variant.
Zoo Atlanta says the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirms that at least four of the samples from the gorillas so far have tested positive for the delta variant of the virus. Because the gorillas live close together in four troops, zoo officials say it’s impossible to keep infected animals isolated.
“According to our guidelines for animal care staff, if they have the slightest symptoms of a cold they are to stay home,” said Dr. Sam Rivera, the zoo’s senior director of animal health. “It so happens that the animal care team member, the following day she developed signs that she suspected might be consistent with COVID and was tested and was positive.”
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