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US: Two gorillas in a California zoo test positive for COVID-19

The gorillas were tested on Monday; they began coughing last week

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-GORILLAS Gorillas sit after two of their troop tested positive for COVID-19 after falling ill, and a third gorilla appears also to be symptomatic | Reuters

At least two gorillas at California's San Diego Zoo have caught the coronavirus, an AFP report reads. This is the first known case of natural transmission from humans to great apes, the officials said. The primates are thought to have contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zoo worker— but this remains to be confirmed.


The gorillas were tested on Monday; they began coughing last week. A third gorilla is now showing symptoms. Whether or not the gorillas will have a serious reaction to the virus that killed 1.94 million humans, is yet unknown. Zoo workers have been advised to wear personal protective equipment when near the gorillas.


As gorillas live in families, it is assumed that all other members of the family have been exposed. All of them are being monitored closely. "Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well," Lisa Peterson, executive director, San Diego Zoo Safari Park told CNN. California is currently the epicentre of COVID-19 in the US. On Monday, California's COVID-19 death toll crossed 30,000. 

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