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Singapore officials: Lions at local wildlife park infected with coronavirus

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Singapore officials on Wednesday say 4 lions at a local wildlife park have tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with infected zookeepers. Roslan Rahman, AFP/file" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/afp/11/11/20211111-singapore.jpg"/><figcaption>Singapore officials on Wednesday say 4 lions at a local wildlife park have tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with infected zookeepers.<em> Roslan Rahman, AFP/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Four lions at a Singapore wildlife park have tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with infected zookeepers, and have symptoms including coughing and sneezing, officials said Wednesday.</p><p>The endangered Asiatic lions started displaying signs of illness at the weekend, prompting officials to order coronavirus tests.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/18/21/lions-tigers-recovering-from-covid-19-in-us-zoo">Lions, tigers recovering after COVID-19 at Washington&#x27;s National Zoo</a></li></ul><p>The infected big cats along with 5 others at the Night Safari park have been placed in isolation in their den, the government&#x27;s animal and veterinary service said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/06/20/tiger-at-new-yorks-bronx-zoo-tests-positive-for-coronavirus">Tiger at New York&#x27;s Bronx Zoo tests positive for coronavirus</a></li></ul><p>&quot;All the lions remain bright, alert and active,&quot; said Sonja Luz, from Mandai Wildlife Group, which operates the park.</p><p>&quot;We expect that the lions will make a full recovery with minor supportive treatment.&quot;</p><p>Three zookeepers from the Night Safari are confirmed to have been infected. The park is an open-air zoo home to hundreds of animals, which welcomes visitors at night.</p><p>An African lion at Singapore Zoo, which is adjacent to the Night Safari, has also fallen sick, and officials have ordered virus tests.</p><p>Luz added the risk of animals passing the virus to humans is low. </p><p>Both Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari remain open, although the lion exhibits have been temporarily closed.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/10/20/four-lions-test-positive-for-covid-19-at-barcelona-zoo">Four lions test positive for COVID-19 at Barcelona zoo</a></li></ul><p>Animals have become infected with the virus on previous occasions. Lions, tigers and gorillas have tested positive at US zoos, while domestic cats and dogs have also been hit.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/28/21/us-reports-worlds-first-deer-with-covid-19">US reports world&#x27;s first deer with COVID-19</a></li></ul><p>Singapore is currently facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic, reporting 2,000-3,000 cases a day and a handful of deaths.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1739991" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The endangered Asiatic lions started displaying signs of illness at the weekend, prompting officials to order coronavirus tests.