OMAHA, Neb. — The essential staff that still work at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium amid the Coronavirus are taking extra precautions when handling animals. While many zoo employees work from home now, veterinarians, dietitians and the keepers are still hard at work on location.
They especially have to be careful around the primates. Primates, like apes and gorillas, can catch upper respiratory infections that humans can catch. Things like a cold, the flu and even the Coronavirus.
"As we heard recently, sometimes the symptoms don't show until you're already a carrier and we didn't want to infect any of those animals and vice versa, we don't want them to infect our employees," Omaha Zoo Vice President of Animal Management Dan Cassidy said.
Primates are the only animals that could become infected or infect others. As of right now medical experts and researchers have no reason to believe that common household pets, like cats or dogs, can carry the virus.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, "...there is no evidence at this point to indicate that pets spread COVID-19 to other animals, including people."
However, out of an abundance of caution remember to wash your hands after handling animals and limit contact if you're sick.
