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Lynx At Pittsburgh Zoo Tests Positive For COVID-19

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Canada lynx at the Pittsburgh Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19.

It's the first documented case in the United States, the zoo said.

The lynx started displaying clinical signs like coughing, but overall symptoms have been mild. The zoo expects the cat to fully recover.

PCR tests have also been done for four other lynxes and the zoo is waiting on those results.

Earlier this month, two tigers at the zoo tested positive for COVID and have since made a full recovery. The lynxes are next to the tigers, and while the zoo said they began exhibiting symptoms later on, they were likely exposed to the virus in a similar window of time. The zoo believed an asymptomatic employee infected the tigers.

In April, two of the zoo's lionesses tested positive for the virus and have also since fully recovered.

The risk of spreading COVID from an animal to a human is considered low, the zoo said.

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