Belgium has issued a mandatory 21-day Monkeypox quarantine after three people in the country contracted the virus. They are the first country to issue such a mandate and the 14th to confirm positive cases of the virus world wide.
The cases are linked to a four day Darklands Festival which is a gathering where the “various tribes in the gay fetish community (Leather, rubber, army, skinhead, puppies, …) come together to create a unique spectacle of fetish brotherhood,” according to their website
On Sunday Joe Biden was asked about his knowledge of the virus during a stop in South Korea as he was boarding Air Force one for his flight to Japan. Biden said he didn’t know much about the virus but issued a warning none the less,
“They [health advisers] haven’t told me the level of exposure yet but it is something that everybody should be concerned about,” he added “It is a concern in the sense that if it were to spread, it’s consequential.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the virus is in the same family as smallpox, however it’s much milder and people usually recover on their own in four weeks or less with out needing treatment or medical attention. The virus can be deadly for about 1% of those who contract it.
The WHO has confirmed 92 cases of Moneypox worldwide as of Saturday.
New York State health officials announced on Friday that an unidentified New York city resident has tested positive for the virus that causes Monkeypox. The patient is isolating and officials are treating the case as positive while they wait for final confirmation by the CDC.
Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the U.S. has vaccines that are ready to be shipped out in case they are needed.
Symptoms include: Skin lesions, swollen lymph nodes, chills, fever, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion.
No one has died from the current outbreak.
