Watch the bizarre video of monkeys who snatched blood samples of COVID-19 patients in India — locals fear transmission

• The monkeys attacked a lab technician at the Meerut Medical College in Uttar Pradesh — before they were tested.
  
• Meerut district magistrate Anil Dhingra said that the administration would investigate the matter.
  
• Residents are scared that the ‘nowhere to be found’ monkeys could only increase the chance of transmission of the virus to humans in the area.

In a bizarre incident in India, a group of monkeys reportedly fled after snatching three coronavirus test samples of patients.

According to a Times Now report, the monkeys attacked a lab technician at the Meerut Medical College in Uttar Pradesh — before they were tested. While the doctors have now collected fresh samples of the suspected COVID patients to test if they were positive, residents are in a state of panic.


The news surfaced when the video of a monkey chewing the test collection kits went viral on social media. Meerut district magistrate Anil Dhingra said that the administration would investigate the matter.

But now, residents are scared that the ‘nowhere to be found’ monkeys could only increase the chance of transmission of the virus to humans in the area.

“The incident happened two day ago and was reported on Thursday after a video went viral.

These samples were not ‘coronavirus tests’, instead they were blood samples of COVID-19 suspect patients,” SK Garg, Principal at the Meerut Medical College told a local news channel.


According to a research study at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, the monkeys once infected by coronavirus can be protected against reinfection — provided they survive it the first time. This is because they tend to develop an immunity against the COVID-19 virus, Hindustan Times reported.

SEE ALSO:
UP Coronavirus cases rise to 7,170, 197 dead and 4,215 recovered

Orders on Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal show Indians are preparing to stay home for a long time