--- title: Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine description: The dog had initially tested “weak positive” for coronavirus, but was released from quarantine after further tests produced negative results canonical: https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-03-18T12:36:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:14.815Z article:section: Health og:title: Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine og:description: The dog was released from quarantine after testing negative for coronavirus og:url: https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf055a34012e71d9d/698a0baa457a52463bd63b40/pet-dog-dies-coronavirus-quarantine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2124 og:image:height: 1195 og:image:alt: Hong Kong Dog dies release from quarantine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine twitter:description: The dog was released from quarantine after testing negative for coronavirus twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf055a34012e71d9d/698a0baa457a52463bd63b40/pet-dog-dies-coronavirus-quarantine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Coronavirus Patient’s Pet Dog Tests Positive for ‘Low Level’ of Virus [Watch (HLS stream): Coronavirus Patient’s Pet Dog Tests Positive for ‘Low Level’ of Virus](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ogqtQarg.m3u8) (0:33)  _Published 2020-02-28. The pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has been found to have a “low level” of the virus, the Hong Kong government said early on Feb. 28._ by [Natalie Lung / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Natalie Lung / Bloomberg Contributor Mar 18, 2020 12:36 PM UTC  Pomeranian foot its sit on sofa. Pomeranian foot its sit on sofa.Getty Images by [Natalie Lung / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Natalie Lung / Bloomberg Contributor Mar 18, 2020 12:36 PM UTC (Bloomberg) — The Hong Kong pet dog that was [tested for coronavirus](https://time.com/5796510/dog-coronavirus-animal-covid/) has died two days after it was released from quarantine. The dog, identified by the _South China Morning Post_ as a 17-year-old Pomeranian, died on Monday, Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said in an email, citing the animal’s owner. The department said the cause of death couldn’t be determined after the owner, who recently recovered from a coronavirus infection, declined to conduct an autopsy. **Read more:** [_Can Dogs Get Coronavirus? One Pet Tested Positive, but Experts Remain Skeptical_](https://time.com/5796510/dog-coronavirus-animal-covid/) While the dog initially tested “weak positive” for the virus, it showed no symptoms and was released from quarantine on Saturday after further tests produced negative results. The case had been closely watched by animal lovers worried that their pets may be vulnerable to the disease or become potential spreaders. The virus has killed more than 7,800 people worldwide. The World Organization for Animal Health has cautioned that there is [no evidence of pets transmitting the virus](https://time.com/5793363/china-coronavirus-covid19-abandoned-pets-wuhan/) to humans: “However, because animals and people can sometimes share diseases … it is still recommended that people who are sick with COVID-19 limit contact with companion and other animals until more information is known about the virus.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/"},"headline":"Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine","datePublished":"2020-03-18T12:36:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:14.815Z","description":"The dog was released from quarantine after testing negative for coronavirus","url":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/","keywords":["COVID-19","wire","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf055a34012e71d9d/698a0baa457a52463bd63b40/pet-dog-dies-coronavirus-quarantine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Natalie Lung / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf055a34012e71d9d/698a0baa457a52463bd63b40/pet-dog-dies-coronavirus-quarantine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hong Kong Dog dies release from quarantine","caption":"Pomeranian foot","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/","name":"Hong Kong Dog Dies After Release From Coronavirus Quarantine"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Coronavirus Patient’s Pet Dog Tests Positive for ‘Low Level’ of Virus","description":"The pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has been found to have a “low level” of the virus, the Hong Kong government said early on Feb. 28.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ogqtQarg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-02-28T13:04:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ogqtQarg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/","duration":"PT33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5805524/hong-kong-dog-dies-after-coronavirus-quarantine/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```