Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist at China’s CCDC health agency, made the recommendation this weekend in an official post on Weibo, the country’s well-known social medium. He advises people to avoid skin-to-skin contact with “strangers” or persons who have returned from abroad in recent weeks.
Wu’s post was widely shared on social media over the weekend and many people wondered why foreigners pose a greater risk than locals.
The person infected with monkeypox in the southwest city of Chongqing has been placed in quarantine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency in late July. More than 60,000 infections have now been reported in more than 90 countries worldwide. The number of new infections in the Netherlands now seems to be decreasing.