A new study found a couple of surprising results related to COVID-19 risk: Owning a dog raises one's chances of contracting the virus as much as working in an office — and having groceries delivered doubles the risk of actually buying them in person.
Walking a dog raises the risk of catching the coronavirus by 78%, according to the study conducted by the University of Granada and the Andalusian School of Public Health in Spain. It was conducted on 2,086 people, 41% of whom were between 40 and 54, the Daily Mail reported.
It is not known whether dogs picked up the virus from surfaces and transmitted them to to their owners or caught the virus then infected their owners, but researchers suggested pets also social distance when in public.
It was unclear why grocery delivery doubled the risk.
"In the midst of a pandemic and in the absence of an effective treatment or vaccine, preventive hygiene measures are the only salvation, and these measures should also be applied to dogs, which, according to our study, appear to directly or indirectly increase the risk of contracting the virus," said Professor Cristina Sánchez González, who was involved in the study.
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