Susanna Reid was left horrified on Good Morning Britain today as she discussed claims that the government had considered asking people to kill their cats to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Lord Bethell, who was head of NHS Test and Trace under Boris Johnson, said the concern about pets showed how little was known about the disease in 2020. A nationwide cull of all pet cats was considered at the start of the pandemic.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the hereditary peer said: "What we shouldn't forget is how little we understood about this disease. There was a moment we were very unclear about whether domestic pets could transmit the disease.
"In fact, there was an idea at one moment that we might have to ask the public to exterminate all the cats in Britain. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had wanted to do that?"
He added: "And yet, for a moment there was a bit of evidence around that so that had to be investigated and closed down."
As Susanna spoke about the news on Good Morning Britain today, she was horrified by the suggestion.
Presenting the breakfast show with Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway this morning, she said "The government considered ordering that all pet cats should be killed," clearly horrified by the news segment she had to read out.
"Sorry - imagine that! But the idea that the government might, at one stage, tell owners 'you have to put down your pet cat?!' she shared in complete shock. I think they realised they might not get away with it."
Back in 2020, a pet cat was infected with coronavirus in the first known case of its kind in the UK.
The government said there was no evidence to suggest the animal transmitted the disease to its owners.
Instead a government spokesman said of what happened: "All available evidence suggests that the cat contracted the coronavirus from its owners who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The cat and its owners have since made a full recovery and there was no transmission to other animals or people in the household."
A private vet initially diagnosed the cat with the feline herpes virus after its owners noticed it was poorly. However, the sample was then tested for SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes Covid-19 - as part of a research programme.
