NYC declares Monkeypox a public health emergency

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:49 PM PT – Sunday, July 31, 2022

New York City, the epicenter of the Monkeypox outbreak, has declared a public health emergency. On Saturday, the New York City Health Department made the Big Apple the second major city to declare a pubic health emergency following San Francisco last week.

The announcement Saturday by Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection. The declaration will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city health code and amend code provisions to implement measures to help slow the spread. This announcement comes shortly after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared Monkeypox a “disaster emergency” for the empire state.

“We will continue to work with our federal partners to secure more doses as soon as they become available,” Adams and Vasan said in the statement. “This outbreak must be met with urgency, action and resources. Both nationally and globally, and this declaration of a public health emergency reflects the seriousness of the moment.”

#BREAKING#NYC declares public health emergency re: #monkeypox, per NYC gov't stmt.#SanFrancisco, California, has also declared a public health emergency re: monkeypox, while #NewYork state has declared a state disaster emergency re: monkeypox. pic.twitter.com/BtnOXupc9c

— Devon Heinen (@DevonHeinen) July 30, 2022

New York had recorded 1,345 cases as of Friday, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California had the second-most, with 799. To date, there have been more than 22,000 Monkeypox cases reported in nearly 80 countries since May, with about 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mostly in Nigeria and Congo.

In response, the city is working with every level of government to receive more vaccines and expand testing capacity.

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