Monkeys attacked a lab technician on the campus of a medical school in India.
A troop of monkeys snatched the blood samples of suspected coronavirus patients at a government hospital in northern India.
As a lab technician was walking across the state-run medical college campus in Meerut, he was attacked by the primates forcing him to give up the blood samples.
“Monkeys grabbed and fled with the blood samples of four COVID-19 patients who are undergoing treatment,” Dr. S. K. Garg, a top official at the college, told Reuters.
After stealing the samples, the monkeys reportedly climbed up trees and chewed on the packets before throwing them away.
Although the college could confirm that no person came in contact with the blood samples, campus security were unable to capture the monkeys.
Residents living near the campus voiced their concerns that the virus could spread further in the area because of the incident.
Meerut: Monkey run away with #corona test samples, locals fear spread of infection. #IndiaFightsCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/Mpe9tuR3H6
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay07) May 29, 2020
The virus is believed to have jumped from animals into people in a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.
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