China’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, issued the warning after China reported its first case of the disease.
A senior Chinese health official warned locals against “touching strangers” a day after China reported its first case of monkeypox.
In a post on China’s leading social network Weibo, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), advised against “skin-to-skin contact with strangers.”
The post sparked controversy, with some labeling it racist and xenophobic. Comments on the original post have been disabled from the platform.
“To avoid possible monkeypox infection and as part of our healthy lifestyle, it is recommended not to have direct contact with strangers,” Wu wrote on Saturday’s Weibo page. Said.
In addition, Wu also urged residents to avoid “skin-to-skin contact” with people who have returned from abroad in the past three weeks.
He published the comments a day after the southwestern city of Chongqing reported its first case of monkeypox in a person from abroad. It is not known whether the person is a Chinese citizen or a foreigner.
The post, which was shared widely on social media over the weekend, received widely critical comments on Weibo.
“This is very inappropriate. At the beginning of the epidemic, some foreigners stood up and [nos defenderam] Saying that the Chinese are not viruses,” one commenter wrote.
Another user, who seems to be a foreigner, wrote, “How racist is this? What about people like me who have lived in China for almost ten years? We haven’t been able to see our families for 3-4 years due to the closure of the borders.” , on Weibo.
Since the start of the pandemic, China has implemented some of the world’s toughest measures against Covid-19, including curfews, border closures, mandatory testing and travel restrictions.
Monkeypox virus or monkeypox is transmitted through close contact with infected people, animals, or contaminated materials. It often causes symptoms such as fever, headache, and skin rashes.
About 90 countries where monkeypox is not considered endemic have reported outbreaks of the disease. The World Health Organization has declared the problem a global health emergency.
There are more than 60,000 confirmed cases, and some non-endemic countries have reported their first related deaths.
– This text was published in: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62963110
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source: Noticias
