Australian monkeypox outbreak: Victoria records high local spread, fears of lockdowns, vaccines

Australia’s first publicly-known monkeypox patient has revealed he contracted the virus from an overseas fling while on holiday in the US.

Sydneysider Jack Barlow broke the news in a hilarious TikTok clip dressed up as former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian giving a Covid-style press conference.

He told The Project on Tuesday he wanted to talk about what he was going through to dispel some of the myths surrounding the potentially deadly disease which causes flu symptoms and skin legions.

It is spread through skin-to-skin contact and bodily fluids and has now been recorded in 100 countries including 93 where it has not historically been detected.

‘I actually caught it off a single holiday fling in Provincetown, Massachusetts,’ he said.

‘It’s just something any normal 26-year-old will do overseas and it was actually on the same day some of my symptoms began.’

Mr Barlow’s symptoms were relatively mild but he decided to undergo a three-week isolation period to ensure he didn’t spread the disease to anyone else.

However, rather than sit around feeling sorry for himself, Mr Harlow decided he wanted to start a conversation.

‘I came out on TikTok dressed as Gladys and did a morning presser,’ he said.

‘I could have felt miserable about myself or I could’ve done something, that’s how I think about it.

‘I’ve never needed an excuse to dress up as Gladys.’

In his video Mr Harlow waddles out to announce a new monkeypox case, identified as a ‘handsome, ginger gay man who returned from the United States’.

‘I would like to further announce that the positive case was me and as a result of this, it breaks my heart to say it, I will have no choice but to enforce a strict 21-day lockdown,’ Mr Harlow said in the video.

But Mr Harlow said the reality of monkeypox was a lot heavier than what he let on in his video.

‘A huge amount of anxiety washes over you,’ he said.

‘I’d just gotten back (from the US), I’d seen some of my friends – what if I’d accidentally given it to them?’

He added that while he’s proud to have started meaningful discussion around monkeypox, going public with his story hasn’t been easy.

‘I still think I’m the only person in Australia to come out publicly about it and it hasn’t done wonders for my love life,’ he said.

‘Hopefully we can break the stigma and people can talk about it