A government minister has said monkeypox will not be "some repeat of covid" as the virus continues to spread around the UK. Simon Clark, the chief secretary to the Treasury, issued the reassurance today as he said he was "cautious, but I am certainly not concerned".
The minster told Sky News: “As with any new disease, and obviously after the covid pandemic doubly so, we continue to monitor this very closely. I would say I am cautious but I am certainly not concerned about our ability to handle the situation.
“There is a vaccine which is available and works for monkeypox, and all the evidence is that it is spread by physical contact. That being the case, the risk of community transmission is much lower, we have a working vaccine, if people present with symptoms or have very close contact, then we are advising that they quarantine for three weeks but the threshold for that is quite high – it really does have to be close physical or sexual contact."
