COVID-19 Coronavirus

I don't know if it can spread to animals yet (most people illnesses can't) but piggies live a rather isolated life apart from each other so it shouldn't be an issue for them. The only thing that could help is making plans of what you will do with your piggies if you have to evacuate or become quarantined as this may limit your ability to get supplies and you cannot just pack up and leave with their cage, bags of hay, hideys and everything in a backpack.

Sending you my best wishes, stay safe and do what you can to protect your mental health (I'm guessing there's nothing worse for anxiety than a break out of coronavirus).
 
The coronavirus is unfortunately spreading to my city too. All I can say is to remember to wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching the piggies, before and after using the toilet, before and after touching someone else, and before and after eating. You may even like to carry a mini bottle of hand sanitizer around. I'm not sure whether animals can catch this virus, but I hope not because pets are better than people 😂. Praying for your city 🤞
 
Sweet Potato said:
I don't know if it can spread to animals yet (most people illnesses can't) but piggies live a rather isolated life apart from each other so it shouldn't be an issue for them. The only thing that could help is making plans of what you will do with your piggies if you have to evacuate or become quarantined as this may limit your ability to get supplies and you cannot just pack up and leave with their cage, bags of hay, hideys and everything in a backpack.

Sending you my best wishes, stay safe and do what you can to protect your mental health (I'm guessing there's nothing worse for anxiety than a break out of coronavirus).
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Yes
Sweet Potato said:
I don't know if it can spread to animals yet (most people illnesses can't) but piggies live a rather isolated life apart from each other so it shouldn't be an issue for them. The only thing that could help is making plans of what you will do with your piggies if you have to evacuate or become quarantined as this may limit your ability to get supplies and you cannot just pack up and leave with their cage, bags of hay, hideys and everything in a backpack.

Sending you my best wishes, stay safe and do what you can to protect your mental health (I'm guessing there's nothing worse for anxiety than a break out of coronavirus).
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Yes I agree
 
I read online and it said it could infect bot animals and humans🙁
 
Hi- I think the concern has been more around live animal markets, stray animals and wild animals more than domestic pets but no particular event has been recorded (according to the world health organisation) for this strain even though it likely started in bats/snakes. There are a wide range of coronavirus strains (not just the current one...just like flu) This is what they said:
"There is currently no evidence that companion animals or pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus," the WHO said.

Prudent just to be extra diligent with hygiene, routine health checks etc and review what the WHO say, not the media.
 
Darcey15 said:
Hi- I think the concern has been more around live animal markets, stray animals and wild animals more than domestic pets but no particular event has been recorded (according to the world health organisation) for this strain even though it likely started in bats/snakes. There are a wide range of coronavirus strains (not just the current one...just like flu) This is what they said:
"There is currently no evidence that companion animals or pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus," the WHO said.

Prudent just to be extra diligent with hygiene, routine health checks etc and review what the WHO say, not the media.
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Definitly, the media exagorate massively, I mean, I've been waiting for snow for a year now ⛄
 
I talked to my brother about it he's an professional doctor he told me it's way too much overhyped by the media just so we watch their news and by that they ll get more viewers and so money.... Coronavirus isn't that dangerous and we absolutely do not need to be anxious but yes we should be alert though
 
Be thankful for Brexit as it at least takes some of the time off them talking about Coronarvirus. We have a lot of Chinese tourists and students here. I have noticed quite a few Chinese people wearing masks now walking round York. But an expert has advised that masks are not effective.
 
So coronavirus rumbles on... it seems to get closer & closer every day. Not sure what my thoughts are about it now - worried, not worried, should I be doing anything different.... who knows what to believe.
 
I think the best source is not online media outlets.... i heard of a school closing which is about 40 mins from me.... a bit too close for comfort but i believe some staff and pupils had recently returned from an Italian skiing trip..
 
How is it any worse than the flu, I bet most the deaths are old or already sick people with more serious problems. The flu takes lives aswell. I'm not worried now
 
Ritika said:
Hey guys. The coronavirus has reached my city do I need to protect my piggies from it? If so how can I ?
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There is no information about any transmission to pets; keep in mind that the issue with Covid-19 is that it is an entirely new virus that has jumped over to humans.

However, guinea pigs generally do not catch viruses from humans.

Please apply the usual good hygiene and minimalised contact practice that we recommend for other viral illnesses like colds and flu or tummy bugs.
Covid-19 is more like a strong flu; and like with a flu (which kills many more people each year), at risk are specifically the frail, the very young and the very old with a lowered or not yet fully developed immune system. The vast majority of people who catch it experience only mild symptoms.
It is obviously highly transmittable but much less deadly than the real nasties likes MERS, SARS or ebola which have a much higher death rate but do not transmit as easily.

Here are our full care tips and recommendations for infected people looking after guinea pigs; they are basic commonsense measures for whenever you are ill but also apply for people catching the new coronavirus strain: Human Colds/flu And Tummy Bug Advice
 
My niece is in China teaching, they have been on lock down in their rooms,teaching by what they call E- teachers,she said its very hard not to be with the children,aged6-7 years in the class room.she been there 18 months.
 
It will eventually be in everyone's city. Really, the most likely route of infection for indoor pets is the humans who live there, so make sure to practice really good handwashing before handling pets. It's in all of our best interests to practice good handwashing anyhow! I have heard of infections being found in dogs and cats, but nothing about other animals thus far.
I'm supposed to be going on a cruise in two weeks and I am very nervous about being stuck in quarantine or the ship being denied entry at ports. I am less concerned about getting sick, as I'm relatively young with no pre-existing conditions, as are the rest of the people traveling with me, and I know if we catch it we are statistically at fairly low risk, plus I'm sure it will circulate in our community before long too. I am very worried about paying a ton of money for a trip that isn't allowed to dock, or being forced into hospital on a Carribean Island and not allowed back on the ship, etc.
 
artcasper said:
I think the best source is not online media outlets.... i heard of a school closing which is about 40 mins from me.... a bit too close for comfort but i believe some staff and pupils had recently returned from an Italian skiing trip..
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Schools closing is what made me wonder. A high school the other side of town sent pupils home after a half term ski trip. I'm not really worried for myself. I'm healthy, get the odd cold/viral infection but work with two year olds so I'm usually surrounded by some bug or other. My worry is for friends/family that have pre existing conditions that would affect this.... I always worry though ☹
 
Ritika said:
Hey guys. The coronavirus has reached my city do I need to protect my piggies from it? If so how can I ?
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I doubt if they get it you will be able to protect them cuz they are tiny, but the likelyhood of them getting it depends. Where abouts do you live?
 
LunaOreoPigz said:
I doubt if they get it you will be able to protect them cuz they are tiny, but the likelyhood of them getting it depends. Where abouts do you live?
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@LunaOreoPigz the size an animal does not affect their susceptibility to viruses, and Covid-19 is currently a disease of humans not piggies.
Wiebke has written a great guide addressing corona virus concerns, that is pinned at the top of the main forum homepage, which should provide more information- it is sensible to employ good hygiene practices if you yourself are ill with any infectious disease, but there is no cause for alarm on your pet's behalf just because other people in the area may be affected.
 
LunaOreoPigz said:
I doubt if they get it you will be able to protect them cuz they are tiny, but the likelyhood of them getting it depends. Where abouts do you live?
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Viruses are species specific. They rarely jump across. Just because Covid-19 has jumped one species border doesn't mean it is also infective to a species that is so different from humans like the rodents are.

But if you worry about your piggies, then you can make sure that you have got enough hay and pellets at home for a month so they have got enough staples during a quarantine/illness. They can make do without fresh veg for a time or can live off fresh grass (which is high in vitamin C) from the garden as long as a member of the household is not infected but not without hay.

Here is our advice re. guinea pigs: Worried about Covid-19 (coronavirus) transmission risk to your guinea pigs?
 
Freela said:
It will eventually be in everyone's city. Really, the most likely route of infection for indoor pets is the humans who live there, so make sure to practice really good handwashing before handling pets. It's in all of our best interests to practice good handwashing anyhow! I have heard of infections being found in dogs and cats, but nothing about other animals thus far.
I'm supposed to be going on a cruise in two weeks and I am very nervous about being stuck in quarantine or the ship being denied entry at ports. I am less concerned about getting sick, as I'm relatively young with no pre-existing conditions, as are the rest of the people traveling with me, and I know if we catch it we are statistically at fairly low risk, plus I'm sure it will circulate in our community before long too. I am very worried about paying a ton of money for a trip that isn't allowed to dock, or being forced into hospital on a Carribean Island and not allowed back on the ship, etc.
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That's a tricky situation. Hope it goes ok.
 
To anyone concerned, (as I am) I've found this really helpful to rationalise the situation.
It's a website that not only showed confirmed cases but also, active cases, those recovered etc and also breaks it down into countries.
Coronavirus Update (Live): 87,670 Cases and 2,994 Deaths from COVID-19 Wuhan China Virus Outbreak - Worldometer

The image below was screenshotted by myself on Thursday, as you can see the number of active cases is actually decreasing as the days go on, (by nearly 4,000) cases despite the media reporting on more and more cases.

IMG_3115.webp
Follow usual hygiene procedures and NHS guidelines, not only helps you, but everyone else in terms of all germs spreading. It's going to be okay :)
 
Hope no one minds me jumping in here, I actually came here to see what my best options were to prepare in case of quarantine (get more hay, can always cut grass was the answer, btw), but since I'm here, my favoured source of information not blown hugely out of proportion by the press is actually the WHO themselves.
Coronavirus
That's their rolling update page, the daily situation reports actually are both incredibly informative and very reassuring.

There is actually very little evidence of transmission between humans and captive species beyond one, unconfirmed report of a dog in Japan registering a "weak positive" test. Essentially, provided you're maintaining decent handwashing and cleanliness standards around your pigs and their homes/food, they should be absolutely fine.
As an aside, evacuation in the UK would be pointless, it's a small island, should cases reach true pandemic status, there will be nowhere to evacuate to. Quarantine is a much more likely scenario, and that is easily handled by keeping spare stock of things you need to be on the safe side.

Essentially, the UK is currently in the containment phase still. If we can get to the warmer months in spring, when other seasonal virii aren't causing as much strain on healthcare, we have an excellent chance at beating the living crap out of corona before mass spread becomes an issue. The WHO is currently working on 20 independent vaccines around the world, one of which is already in the second set of testing on humans. This is a very beatable situation provided people stick together and, crucially, do not panic whilst maintaining cleanliness and doing their part to inhibit spread.

Please excuse this bargain basement TED talk but good grief the sheer quantity of misinformation (LOOKING AT YOU, FACEBOOK...) I've seen online is just painful to see and I know humankind can do better than that.
 
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