The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that city rats may display "unusual or aggressive" behavior due to the lockdown, since there is less street garbage and food waste in the streets.
According CDC, some of the rats were observed eating their young.
"Rodents rely on the food and waste generated by these establishments," the CDC wrote. "Community-wide closures have led to a decrease in food available to rodents, especially in dense commercial areas."
"Follow established guidelines when cleaning up after rodent infestations to prevent exposure to rodent-borne diseases. Fleas are common on rodents," CDC warned.
"In areas of heavy rodent infestations, workers should consider using a repellant registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as effective against fleas to prevent flea bites and minimize exposure to fleaborne disease."
It is believed that coronavirus made the transfer to humans via rats and live wolf pups, and rats were prime spreaders of the Black Plague in the mid-1300s.