Several cities, such as Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai, have already taken a more scientific and reasonable approach to dealing with pets during quarantine.

Early last year, Beijing's Daxing district started arranging quarantine for pet owners at designated sites tailored specifically for people with animals.

Moreover, once pets left unattended at home have had a nucleic acid test and the owner's consent has been obtained, they can be transferred to third-party professional facilities for temporary care.

In January last year, a residential area in Shanghai's Huangpu district was reported to have recorded new infections. All the residents were quickly quarantined in a hotel, but they were allowed to take their pets with them.

Similar pet-friendly policies have been introduced in Beijing's Changping district. In November, when new infections were reported in the district, several residential areas were isolated and the district government quickly released a new policy on care for pets.

Tong Lizhi, Changping's deputy head, announced that anti-epidemic workers would obtain permission from owners and then transfer pets to third-party professional facilities for temporary care.

Lyu Dewen, a researcher with the School of Sociology at Wuhan University in Hubei province, said: "Staff members from local epidemic prevention departments, especially in small cities or towns, have barely gained experience in handling pets during the epidemic, so a standard, safe and practical procedure should be introduced gradually. Related policies should also be formulated as soon as possible."