Chinese health official's 'don't touch foreigners' remark to avoid monkeypox draws flak

A day after Beijing reported its first case of monkeypox, a top Chinese health official gave a "controversial statement," warning people against touching foreigners to avoid getting infected by the disease. His statement came after a visitor, who recently arrived in Chongqing city, tested positive for monkeypox. Taking to Weibo, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that the country's strict border controls and restrictions have so far managed to prevent the spread of monkeypox - until a case "slipped through the net," CNN reported. 

Chinese health official's remark sparks controversy 

Zunyou also pointed out that it is essential and crucial to strengthen the monitoring and prevention of monkeypox. He underlined the danger of disease transmission through overseas travel and close contact. Further, the senior health official also suggested at least five recommendations for the public, with the first one being, "Do not have skin-to-skin contact with foreigners." However, his suggestions sparked controversy on the Chinese social networking site Weibo, with some praising his advice as reasonable while some slammed him for making discriminatory statements. 

People's reactions to Zunyou's suggestions

"It’s good to open the country’s door, but we can’t just let everything in,” one Weibo user wrote, as per CNN. "This is a bit like when the pandemic began, when some people overseas avoided any Chinese people they saw out of fear," wrote another user. "I don’t believe these two things have any scientific basis, they are too broad and will exacerbate public panic," expressed a third. In his Weibo post, Zunyou also asked people to maintain good hygiene, avoid close contact with strangers and those who have just arrived from abroad, use disposable toilet paper, and clean toilet seats with alcohol wipes before usage.

It should be noted that a hashtag associated with the Chongqing case quickly surpassed 120 million views on the Chinese social networking site Weibo as soon as the report of the first monkeypox surfaced. This monkeypox case quickly became top trending on the site, much like China's strict zero-COVID policy hashtags. Chongqing's case comes after the first case of monkeypox was reported in Hong Kong last week. Reportedly, a 30-year-old man tested positive, who returned to Hong Kong after visiting countries like Canada, the US and the Philippines.