Zoos asked to remain on high alert of COVID-19, SC told

The Central Zoo Authority has informed the Supreme Court that it has issued instructions to monitor regularly and initiate fortnightly Covid-19 testing of the suspects among mammals and carnivores especially the cat, ferret and primates.

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Zoos in India have been asked to remain on high alert in view of a Tiger having been found Covid-19 positive in New York. The USA Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories, in a statement on April 5, 2020, has confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in a Tiger housed in the Bronx Zoo, New York.

The Central Zoo Authority comes under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It has filed a response to a PIL filed by activist Sangeeta Dogra seeking urgent steps to take care of the animals housed in zoos across the country, on the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic.

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In a status report about measures being undertaken, it said samples of suspect cases would be sent to the designated animal health institutes while following all biocontainment and safety measures required to handle this high-risk pathogen as per the ICMR guidelines.

The designated centres are National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, Haryana, and Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, UP.

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Giving further measures, it said, "Zoos in the country have been asked to remain on highest alertness, watch animals on 24X7 basis, using CCTV for any abnormal behaviour or symptoms, keepers or handlers not to be allowed in the vicinity without safety gear preferably Personal Protective Equipment, isolate and quarantine sick animals and have the least contact while providing the feed."

It has asked all zoo personnel to strictly adhere to safety and disinfection protocol issued by the government, time to time, on novel coronavirus disease.

Zoos were further advised to coordinate with designated nodal agencies of the government responsible for public health response and permit screening, testing and surveillance, the authority said.

The top court has fixed April 20 for hearing the matter.