Italija će do kraja veljače iduće godine obustaviti uzgoj nerčeva zbog rizika širenja zaraze koronavirusom, rekao je u ponedjeljak ministar zdravlja Roberto Speranza.

Početkom mjeseca Danska, najveći svjetski proizvođač krzna od nerca, usmrtila je 17 milijuna nerčeva nakon što je otkriven soj koronavirusa koji je sa zaraženih životinja prešao na ljude.

Speranza je rekao da Italija ima "vrlo ograničen" broj farmi nerčeva u usporedbi s drugim europskim zemljama, ali slijedi "načelo maksimalnog opreza".

Zdravstvene vlasti ovlaštene su zapečatiti farme nerčeva ako se posumnja na zarazu koronavirusom, ali i za usmrćivanje životinja ako zaraza bude potvrđena, dodao je ministar. 

Od početka pandemije Italija je registrirala više od 1,4 milijuna slučajeva zaraze koronavirusom i gotovo 50 tisuća smrtnih slučajeva povezanih s tom bolešću, pokazuju službene statistike.

Media Type: TextItaly suspends activities of mink farms due to coronavirus risks

Rome (dpa) - Italy is suspending mink farming activities until the end of February due to coronavirus infection risks, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Monday.

Earlier this month, Denmark - the world's largest producer of mink fur - had millions of minks culled after a mink-associated variant of the coronavirus was discovered in humans in that country.

Speranza said Italy has a "very limited" number of mink farms compared to other European countries, but was following the "principle of maximum precaution."

The minister said health authorities were authorized to seal off mink farms in case of a suspected coronavirus contagion, and to cull animals if cases are confirmed.

Since the start of the pandemic, Italy has had more than 1.4 million coronavirus infections and nearly 50,000 Covid-19-related fatalities, according to official statistics.

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