In Germany, people infected with monkeypox should be isolated for at least 21 days.
In addition, the symptoms must have healed before the isolation can be ended, said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Doctors' Day in Bremen.
The “urgent recommendation” also applies to contact persons of infected people to go into quarantine for 21 days.
It's about getting an early outbreak "under control", said Lauterbach.
At the same time, he emphasized that this was not the beginning of a new pandemic.
Outbreaks of this viral disease have been very common.
The minister said that the infection can be easily controlled through good contact tracing.
According to Lauterbach, Germany ordered “up to 40,000 doses” of a vaccine that was approved against monkeypox in the United States and would also work in Germany.
The vaccine can prevent or delay an outbreak of infection, Lauterbach said.
However, it is not yet clear whether the vaccine has to be used, for example in children.
A total of 177 monkeypox cases have been counted in 16 countries so far.