Marcos: Monkeypox not as fearsome as COVID-19

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday allayed fears on the monkeypox virus after it was announced last week that the Philippines already has one case.

At the sidelines of an event in Pasig City, Marcos said it is unfortunate that the Philippines has detected one monkeypox case, however, he ensured that the government is monitoring the situation.

"But even then, I want to be very clear to everyone, this is not COVID. Walang — hindi kagaya ng COVID ito. Hindi kasing — hindi nakakatakot kagaya ng COVID ‘yung monkeypox. Parang smallpox, para kang may smallpox. Marami namang gamot. Kaya’t puwede naman nating gamutin," Marcos said.

(This is not like COVID. This is not as scary as COVID. Monkeypox is like smallpox. There's a lot of medicines, it can be cured.)

"Pero again, ganoon din eh. Kagaya ng lahat ng sakit, kailangan malinis ang mga kamay natin. Medyo mag-ingat lang tayo sa sanitation, ‘yung mga bagay-bagay na ganyan. Pero sa ngayon, ‘yung monkeypox ay talagang nakabantay tayo dahil nasanay na tayo rito sa COVID. Nakabantay tayo nang husto. Pero siguro masasabi natin sa ngayon, madaling masabi na wala tayong kaso dito sa Pilipinas sa ngayon," Marcos added.

(Still, just like other illnesses, we need to have clean hands, we need to be cautious when it comes to sanitation. At present, we are monitoring the monkeypox. But as of now, we can say that we don't have monkeypox case in the country.)

The Department of Health has reported that the Philippines already recorded its first case of monkeypox in a 31-year-old patient who arrived from abroad on July 19. He tested positive for the virus on Thursday, July 28.

The agency said the patient is already recovering from the illness.

The World Health Organization said that monkeypox can spread “during close skin-to-skin contact during sex, including kissing, touching, oral and penetrative sex with someone who has symptoms.” -NB, GMA News