San Francisco Declares Monkeypox A Public Health Emergency [Video]

The monkeypox outbreak prompted officials to declare a local public health emergency in San Francisco Thursday.

San Francisco has joined New York state in declaring monkeypox a local public health emergency. The Bay Area city had 261 confirmed cases of the painful disease when the declaration was made on Friday (July 29).

Mayor London Breed said the local health emergency status will allow the city to obtain necessary health resources, such as vaccines. The city is considered one of the epicenters of the monkeypox outbreak.

“San Francisco showed during COVID that early action is essential for protecting public health. We know that this virus impacts everyone equally – but we also know that those in our LGBTQ community are at greater risk right now. Many people in our LGBTQ community are scared and frustrated. This local emergency will allow us to continue to support our most at-risk while also better preparing for what’s to come,” said Mayor Breed in a statement. The declaration goes into effect on Monday (Aug. 1).

This virus impacts everyone, but our LGBTQ community is seeing significant cases and we need action, we need more vaccines.
Learn more here: https://t.co/AAhJM3Xerf

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 28, 2022

On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of disaster emergency as there continues to be an uptick in confirmed cases. “After reviewing the latest data on the monkeypox outbreak in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak,” Governor Hochul said. “More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond,” she added.

New York is outpacing the country as the leader of new monkeypox cases. Since the onset of the outbreak, the state has confirmed more than 1,300 cases. At this time, health officials believe those infected with the disease are coming into contact through sexual contact, reported ABC-7 in New York.

A week ago (July 22), the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency. More than 16,000 cases have been confirmed globally. Only a handful of deaths have occurred outside of the U.S. Currently, only two vaccines are available to curb the spread of the disease.