(CNN) A pet dog has been placed in quarantine in Hong Kong after it tested a "weak positive" for the novel coronavirus, authorities said.

The dog was handed over to the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) after its owner was infected with the coronavirus, the department said in a statement.

"We're working with authorities in Hong Kong and scientists in Hong Kong who are testing ... the dog ... to understand these results and to understand where or if the dog was actually infected or if the dog picked this up from a contaminated surface, for example," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Program, said during a press briefing Friday.

Preliminary tests from the dog's oral, nasal and rectal samples tested a "weak positive" but the "dog does not have any relevant symptoms," the AFCD said in a statement.

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