Published 16:58 IST, May 29th 2020
Meerut: Monkeys run away with test samples of suspected COVID-19 patients
The incident took place inside the premises of Meerut Medical College, where doctors had taken test samples of three people who were suspected of having COVID.
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In a strange but shocking incident, a monkey in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut city snatched suspected COVID-19 test samples from a lab technician and ran away. The incident took place on May 29, when a group of monkeys attacked the lab technician carrying suspected COVID-19 test samples and snatched the kits before running away. According to reports, one of the monkeys was later spotted sitting atop of a tree and chewing what appeared to be the sample collection kit.
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Monkey menace
The incident reportedly took place inside the premises of Meerut Medical College, where doctors had taken test samples of three people who were suspected of having coronavirus. After the monkey took away the kits from the lab technician, doctors reportedly took fresh samples from the three people. The video of one of the monkeys sitting atop of a tree with the sample kit is going viral on social media. The risk of COVID-19 transmission from humans to monkeys now looms large in Meerut and neighbouring districts.
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According to researchers, if monkeys contract coronavirus they can develop immunity after recovering from the disease. The coronavirus outbreak has become a hot topic for the world in the last four months with almost half the world's population affected by it in some way or the other. According to Johns Hopkins University, the disease has infected over 5.8 million people worldwide and has claimed more than 3,60,000 lives to date. In India, over 1,66,000 infected and more than 4,700 people dead as of May 29.
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16:58 IST, May 29th 2020