China’s Monkeypox Advisory: Don’t Touch Foreigners

Beijing: No sooner had the first case of monkeypox been detected in China than the authorities took action.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned citizens not to touch foreigners!

An individual who arrived from abroad tested positive for monkeypox in the south-western city of Chongqing on Friday.

Local authorities said the individual has been put in quarantine on arrival in Chongqing as per COVID-19 protocol, and all close contacts have been isolated and put under medical observation, so risk of transmission was low.

The CDC, affiliated to China’s health ministry, issued five recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus.

CDC’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou wrote that China’s COVID restrictions on international travel and tight border checks had prevented spread of monkeypox until the first case “slipped through the net”.

His first advice to the public was — “Do not have skin-to-skin contact with foreigners”.

He also advised the Chinese people not to have “contact” with people who have returned from abroad for at least three weeks.

Over 60,000 cases have been reported globally so far, from around 90 countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared monkeypox as a global health emergency.