A top Chinese health official has warned people not to touch foreigners, just one day after mainland China confirmed its first case of monkeypox, according to local media.
On Saturday, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, that the country’s Covid-19 restrictions and tight border controls had thus far prevented the spread of monkeypox – until a case “slipped through the net.”
That case was discovered in Chongqing, a municipality in southwest China. According to local authorities, a “international arrival” was under mandatory Covid-19 quarantine when the infection was discovered; however, they did not specify whether the person was a foreign or Chinese national, CNN reported.
Monkeypox, which causes flu-like symptoms and blister-like lesions, first appeared in the United States in May. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has reported 23,500 cases so far this year.
“It is necessary and important to strengthen the monitoring and prevention of monkeypox,” Wu wrote in his post, emphasiSing the risk of disease spreading through international travel and close contact. He gave five recommendations for the public – the first being, “Do not have skin-to-skin contact with foreigners.”
On Weibo, the recommendation sparked debate, with some praising his advice as reasonable and others expressing relief that they didn’t know many foreigners.. “It’s good to open the country’s door, but we can’t just let everything in,” one Weibo user wrote, CNN reported.
