Animal owners have been told the risk of Covid-19 infection between them, livestock and pets is ’relatively low’.

Health Minister David Ashford was speaking at a media briefing following the news a tiger at Bronx Zoo, USA, had tested positive for coronavirus. He said: ’We follow the World Health Organisation advice. Although [Covid-19] has shown it can cross through the species barrier and the tiger was one case in point... it is generally still rare.

’The risk of it passing to other forms of animals, particularly household pets, is still seen as quite low.’