Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for COVID-19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced during a press conference on Monday.
“Two that have been tested positive, we have another that’s symptomatic,” Newsom said.
The Democratic governor said that the news of the infected gorillas, which may have occurred as a result of the first global human-to-animal transfer, was a source of fascination in his household Monday morning.
“As I say often to all of you, what tends to resonate in my house I want to make public to you in real time and that’s the update in terms of the status of these gorillas in the San Diego Zoo,” Newsom said.
The San Diego Zoo is home to six gorillas, according to the zoo’s website.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first case of an animal in the U.S. testing positive for COVID-19 was a tiger at a New York zoo.
Other animals recorded as testing positive for the virus include dogs, cats, lions, pumas, snow leopards and mink.
The gorillas likely were infected by a member of the zoo’s wildlife care team, who has tested positive but has been asymptomatic, according to the Associated press.
Andrew Sheeler covers California’s unique political climate for the Sacramento Bee. He has covered crime and politics from Interior Alaska to North Dakota’s oil patch to the rugged coast of southern Oregon. He attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks.