Single hamster handed over for Hong Kong Covid cull tests positive

Hong Kong (AFP), Jan 23 - Hong Kong authorities said Sunday that one of 77 hamsters handed in by pet owners for a Covid cull has tested positive, as thousands of city residents remain under lockdown to combat an outbreak. The financial services hub adheres to mainland China's strict "zero-Covid" policy under which even the slightest sign of the virus is stamped out with contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and long quarantines. More than 2,000 hamsters have been culled after some imported from the Netherlands by a local pet shop were found to be Covid-positive, raising fears of animal-to-human transmission. The…