After the first known case of the virus on the mainland of China was announced, a senior Chinese health official recommended residents to avoid contact with foreigners to prevent monkeypox infection.
Wu Zunyou, head epidemiologist of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated on his official Weibo page on Saturday, ‘It is advised that you do not have direct skin-to-skin contact with foreigners to prevent a possible monkeypox infection and as part of our healthy lifestyle.’
Wu further urged awareness and caution, urging people to avoid interaction with ‘strangers’ and anyone who has recently travelled abroad.
Over the weekend, his post was widely shared on social media, but on Sunday and the early hours of Monday in Beijing, the comments area was disabled.
Some people who wrote comments on forwarded or screenshot versions of his post questioned why foreigners in China, many of whom are long-term residents and haven’t recently departed because to COVID-19 obstacles, were viewed as more hazardous than Chinese people.
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