HONG KONG, China (AFP)— Hong Kong recorded its first case of monkeypox in a 30-year-old man who had travelled into the city and showed symptoms during hotel quarantine, health officials said Tuesday.

The patient arrived in the city on Monday and was taken to hospital after he reported feeling unwell, according to health official Edwin Tsui.

Visitors to Hong Kong must undergo three days of hotel quarantine as part of a zero-COVID strategy, which quashes outbreaks with travel curbs and lockdowns.

The monkeypox patient had no contact with the community and was classified as an imported case, Tsui said, adding the risk of Hong Kongers getting infected was “very low”.

No close contacts have been identified in the city.

The patient spent most of last month in the United States, before staying in Canada for a week and then making his way to the Philippines and finally Hong Kong, officials said.

He showed symptoms such as skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes and a sore throat in the week leading up to his hospitalisation, according to health officials.

Hong Kong will raise its alert level for monkeypox and notify the World Health Organization and mainland China, officials said.