The new coronavirus is transmitted directly from human to human. According to current knowledge, there is no evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus would spread or be transmitted to humans via food or via pets or farmed animals. E.g. in Belgium, France and Germany pets that have been in close contact with humans suffering from the coronavirus disease COVID-19, especially cats, have been reported as infected with the virus. In some cases the cats had shown no symptoms of the disease. Pets are considered to have no role in spreading the disease, but in all cases the virus had been transmitted from humans. Despite these quite rare and isolated cases considering the extent of the pandemic, pets can and must be cared for in the same way as usually, taking care of regular, good hand hygiene.
Besides pets, minks on four mink farms in the Netherlands have been found to carry the disease. In all these cases staff members caring for the animals had shown respiratory symptoms indicative of COVID-19.
Based on genetic analyses, it has been concluded that the coronavirus COVID-19 would originate from bats because its close relative has been found in Rhinolophus bat (horseshoe bat) populations. Studies on how the coronavirus was transmitted to humans are under way. The hypothesis is that the coronavirus would first have been transmitted from bats to an intermediate host where it had mutated into one that can be transmitted to humans.
Read more:
UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO