5 BRONX WEEKLY April 12, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
A Bronx Zoo tiger contracted COVID-19 from a worker
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Not even New York City’s wildlife
is safe from COVID-19.
A four-year-old female Malayan
tiger at the Bronx Zoo contracted
COVID-19 from an asymptomatic
zoo employee while six
other jungle cats also fell ill, the
Wildlife Conservation Society
announced yesterday evening.
The tiger, Nadia, began showing
signs of sickness eleven days
after the zoo’s Monday, March
16th closure and was tested out
of “an abundance of caution,” according
to WCS.
Nadia is the fi rst tiger to contract
COVID-19, according to the
United States Department of Agriculture,
which tested Nadia in
an Ames, IA laboratory.
“It is not known how this disease
will develop in big cats since
different species can react differently
to novel infections, but we
will continue to monitor them
closely and anticipate full recoveries,”
the zoo said in a release.
Nadia’s sister tiger Azul, two
Amur tigers, and three African
lions each developed a dry cough
and appetite suppression as part
of their own respiratory illnesses,
but are “doing well under
veterinary care and are bright,
alert, and interactive with their
keepers,” and are also expected
to recover, according to WCS.
“Appropriate preventive measures
are now in place for all staff
who are caring for them,” the zoo
stated.
Each of the affl icted tigers live
in close confi nes to one another
within the Bronx Zoo’s Tiger
Mountain exhibit while tigers at
another exhibit along with the
zoo’s snow leopards, cheetahs,
clouded leopard, Amur leopard,
puma or serval are not showing
symptoms of illness.
The zoo also stated that “there
is no evidence that animals play
a role in the transmission of
COVID-19 to people other than
the initial event in the Wuhan
market, and no evidence that any
person has been infected with
COVID-19 in the US by animals,
including by pet dogs or cats.”
Meanwhile, the USDA indicated
“there have not been reports
of pets becoming sick with
COVID-19 in the United States.”
Despite this uncertainty over
inter-species transmission, caution
is urged, and it remains recommended
that people sick with
COVID-19 limit contact with animals
until more information is
known about the virus.
Nadia, the 4-year-old female Malayan tiger that tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bronx Zoo.
(Photo by WCS/Julie Larsen Maher
Cabrera calls for Wi-Fi buses
BY JASON COHEN
Nearly three million students
nationwide don’t have
access to the internet. In fact,
some states like Alabama, Wisconsin
and South Carolina use
portable Wi-Fi buses to bring
connectivity to families.
One elected official is aware
of this problem and now, more
than ever with virtual learning,
needs it resolved.
On Friday, Councilman Fernando
Cabrera submitted legislation
calling on the MTA and
New York City Transit to locate
Wi-Fi enabled buses in low income
neighborhoods where few
people have internet access.
“We’ve always known we
have a digital divide,” Cabrera
said. “But the COVID-19 pandemic
has made it glaringly
clear just how bad it is, as the
DOE has tried to roll out remote
learning and so many families
can’t access the Internet.”
Cabrera’s legislation is
based on models being used
in school districts in several
states.
Last week, when the Department
of Education began its
rollout of online learning after
school closings, the lack of internet
access, particularly in
the city’s hundreds of family
shelters highlighted the inability
of children in low income
and homeless families to complete
their online assignments.
This should not be the
case. In this digital age no one
should be without internet access,
especially if they are required
to learn from home, he
said. Someone dropped the ball
getting students ready and it’s
time for this to be fixed, he
stressed.
“We know that access to
broadband is tied to income,”
Cabrera said. “It should not
have been any surprise to us
that kids without this access
are now trying to do their school
work on a parent’s phone. We
don’t know what’s going to happen
in the fall with the coronavirus.
We need to have something
that will bridge us and
prepare the kids.”
This follows up on the councilman’s
request last week for
the Department of Education
(DOE) to immediately distribute
all working surplus laptops
and tablets to students in
need.
He told the Bronx Times,
whether it is a school bus with
a router, or an MTA bus, which
is already Wi-Fi ready, poor
areas of the Bronx need these
buses as soon as possible.
“I think this is a viable way
to deal with this issue that a
lot of students are facing,” the
councilman commented.
He noted not having Wi-Fi
access affects more than just
their education. People are
quarantined and the internet
allows them to communicate
via email, social media, Skype
and Zoom. Now, imagine if this
wasn’t feasible, people will
get depressed and isolated, he
said.
Cabrera hopes the government
agencies heed his request.
“If we have Wi-Fi people
could feel connected,” he explained.
“There’s a lack of foresight
by the BOE.” File photo
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