WHO mpox emergency declaration does not advise lockdowns
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"WHO Orders Govt's To Prepare for 'Mega Lockdowns' Due to 'Deadly Monkeypox' Strain," says an August 16, 2024 Facebook post sharing a headline from The People's Voice, a website AFP has fact-checked multiple times for spreading misinformation.
Similar claims have circulated on X, Instagram and Rumble. Some users, suggesting lockdowns and mandated vaccinations are imminent, attempted to organize a "do not comply" campaign.
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus is transmitted to humans by infected animals, but it can also be passed between people through close physical contact. The disease causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The WHO on August 14, 2024 declared the mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency (archived here), sounding its highest possible alarm over the worsening situation after more than 500 deaths and 18,700 suspected or confirmed cases on the continent. Health officials have reported infections in other parts of the world and expressed concern about a variant that has been spreading in countries outside Africa.
The WHO has urged manufacturers to ramp up production of two mpox vaccines and has asked countries with stockpiles to donate them to countries with ongoing outbreaks. Scientists have expressed concern about the epidemic and called for more coordination while noting that it is too soon to know the extent of the problem.
But claims that the WHO has ordered governments to prepare for new movement restrictions are false.
"WHO cannot and has not ordered governments to prepare for 'Mega Lockdowns' or any kind of lockdown due to mpox," a spokesperson said in an August 17 email.
"As a scientific and technical organization, WHO provides technical advice and support to its 194 Member States. Countries have the sovereignty to take decisions and actions concerning the health of their populations."
The agency's recommendations and framework for combatting mpox do not mention travel restrictions in affected countries (archived here and here).
Election conspiracy theories
Some social media users go a step further, alleging mpox is an outbreak designed to disrupt the 2024 US presidential election.
There is no evidence to support that theory, which mirrors debunked claims that the Covid-19 pandemic was planned.
Still, posts on TikTok and Instagram in English and Spanish have shared a video of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump with the caption: "Trump warns about lockdowns and election fraud with monkeypox."
"The left-wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back Covid lockdowns and mandates," the former president says in the clip. "They want to restart the Covid hysteria so they can justify more lockdowns, more censorship."
The video is real, but it was posted in August 2023 and refers to Covid-19 -- not mpox (archived here).
More of AFP's reporting on health misinformation is available here.
Correct fifth paragraph to remove reference to sexual transmission.August 23, 2024 Correct fifth paragraph to remove reference to sexual transmission.
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