GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has not issued directives to the governments around the world to prepare for lockdowns due to an mpox epidemic in August 2024, a WHO spokesperson stated, contrary to posts shared on different platforms of social media.
Health experts said that lockdowns would not be a likely or effective step against mpox, a virus that transmits via close physical contact. Mpox was declared a global public health emergency on August 14 by the World Health Organization (WHO) following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo of a new version of the virus, was found to have spread to other states.
After the announcement, social media posts wrote: “BREAKING: The WHO has reportedly instructed governments to prepare for a new lockdown due to monkeypox epidemic.”
The WHO statement announcing the declaration of a “public health emergency of international concern” makes no mention of lockdowns worldwide.
Tarik Jašarević, a WHO spokesperson stated in an email that the viral social media posts are false and that “WHO cannot and has not ordered governments to prepare for ‘Mega Lockdowns’ due to mpox.”
