Chinese official warns against touching foreigners after monkeypox case

A top Chinese health official has warned locals against touching foreigners, a day after China recorded its first monkeypox infection.

In a post on Weibo, the chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wu Zunyou advised against "skin-to-skin contact with foreigners".

The post drew controversy, with some labelling it as racist.

Comments on the original post have since been disabled from the platform.

"In order to prevent possible monkeypox infection and as part of our healthy lifestyle, it is recommended that 1) you do not have direct skin-to-skin contact with foreigners," said Mr Wu on his Weibo page on Saturday. read more