No need for Mpox lockdown
The Executive Director of Botswana Public Health Institute (BPHI), Dr Thebeyame Macheka has assured Batswana that there will be no need for a lockdown, similar to the one imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Dr Macheka explained that Mpox is a contact-transmitted disease, spreading through contact with an infected person who is symptomatic, unlike COVID-19, which is airborne.
COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected person, which are usually too small to see. 'As of now, we don’t foresee any need for a lockdown with Mpox,” Dr Macheka said.
Mpox is primarily spread through contact but can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse. Initially, the spread was observed in homosexual circles, but the current strain of Mpox (Clade 1b) has been found to spread through sexual contact among all individuals, Dr Macheka clarified.
Although Botswana has not recorded any cases of Mpox, unnecessary travel is being discouraged, and citizens are advised to minimise contact and wash their hands regularly.
“Though we have not recorded any cases of Mpox in Botswana, I want to take this opportunity to assure Batswana that, through the BPHI, we have significantly enhanced our epidemiological surveillance systems.
“We are intensifying monitoring and screening at key entry points, such as borders and airports, and focusing on other high-risk areas,” Dr Macheka said.
Minister of Health Dr Edwin Dikoloti reassured Batswana and all residents that just like with COVID-19, the country will get through this together.
He advised citizens to rely on information from authoritative sources like the Ministry of Health and to be cautious of misinformation circulating on social media.
One Facebook page falsely claimed that a Zimbabwean man has Mpox, and the Ministry of Health is not aware of this. “I urge Batswana to listen only to official information from the ministry, not from social media influencers,” Dikoloti warned.