China records first monkeypox case

BEIJING (AFP): China recorded its first case of monkeypox on Friday in a person who had recently entered the country, officials said.

Health authorities in the southwestern city of Chongqing said the person displayed symptoms while undergoing quarantine for Covid-19.

Under China s zero-Covid policy, people entering the country must typically complete between one and two weeks of isolation on arrival.

The monkeypox patient was diagnosed after developing symptoms including a skin rash, the city health commission said in a report, categorising the case as an “imported infection”.

The patient “is undergoing centralised isolation at a designated hospital and is in a stable condition”, the report said.

Because the patient had been immediately isolated upon entering the city, “there are no traces of social transmission, and the risk of transmission is low”, it said.

Last week, Hong Kong logged its first monkeypox case in a 30-year-old man who showed symptoms while undergoing the city s three-day Covid quarantine period for arrivals.

The patient had no contact with the community, according to a health official, who said the risk of Hong Kongers getting infected was “very low”.