china: Top Chinese epidemiologist asks citizens not to touch foreigners to avoid monkeypox, faces backlash

A high Chinese language well being official has warned residents towards having pores and skin contact with foreigners and up to date returnees from overseas to keep away from contracting monkeypox, triggering a social media backlash for his “racist and discriminatory” remarks.

China on Friday reported its first case of monkeypox in Chongqing metropolis after an individual who arrived from overseas developed rashes whereas in COVID-19 quarantine.

Following this, China’s high epidemiologist Wu Zunyou warned residents to not have pores and skin contact with foreigners and up to date returnees from overseas to keep away from contracting the illness.

“To stop attainable monkeypox an infection, and as a part of our day by day wholesome life-style, [I] advise 1) do not have skin-to-skin contact with foreigners; 2) do not have skin-to-skin contact with individuals who have returned from overseas [in the past three weeks],” recommended Wu, chief epidemiologist on the Chinese language Centre for Illness Management and Prevention.

He additionally suggested the general public to not have skin-to-skin contact with strangers and to make use of disposable bathroom seat covers in public services, together with in resorts, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Submit reported on Sunday.

Wu’s solutions had been ridiculed by many Chinese language web customers, with some saying that they discovered them “racist and discriminatory”.

“How racist is that this? What concerning the ones like me who’ve been residing in China for nearly 10 years and we’ve not seen our households in like 3-4 years as a result of borders being closed,” an consumer wrote on Weibo in response to a World Occasions publish about Wu’s suggestions.

One other Weibo consumer stated she discovered Wu’s description “very inappropriate”.

“There are nonetheless so many overseas pals working in China. At the start of the epidemic, some overseas pals stood up and used social platforms to inform everybody that ‘Chinese language individuals are not viruses’,” she stated.

The consumer additional wrote that Chinese language individuals mustn’t now stay silent when many foreigners are dealing with discrimination within the nation, the Submit reported.

One other Weibo consumer wrote, “Is he (Wu) referring to a sexual relationship or simply skin-to-skin contact? I assume he meant the previous. However it’s inevitable to have handshakes once you meet overseas company. It is also arduous to keep away from pores and skin contact on the bus.” PTI KJV SCY