US: San Francisco and New York Declare Monkeypox Emergency

The U.S. city of San Francisco and the state of New York proclaimed public health emergencies Thursday amid a growing outbreak of monkeypox in response to the virus's rapid spread.

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The action by two of the hardest-hit areas across the U.S. comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global emergency last weekend and President Joe Biden's administration weighed a national emergency declaration.

The declaration considers that more than 40 percent of the 4 907 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the U.S. have been reported in California and New York.

In that direction, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, announced the local public health emergency on Thursday, highlighting that monkeypox cases had nearly doubled to 261 in just one week. She said the measure could mobilize resources, accelerate emergency planning and allow the state and federal governments to reimburse future expenses.

Meanwhile, California State Senator Scott Wiener, who called for the emergency declaration, said the decision would facilitate the expansion of testing and vaccines and put pressure on the federal government to take the outbreak more seriously.

Meanwhile, after New York recorded more than 1 200 cases, state Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett on Thursday issued an imminent public health threat retroactive to June 1.

According to Bassett, "this declaration means that local health departments engaged in response and prevention activities will be able to access additional state reimbursements, after other federal and state funding sources are maximized, to protect all New Yorkers and ultimately limit the spread of monkeypox in our communities."

Monkeypox infections result in an illness that lasts several weeks with symptoms that include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that can spread throughout the body. No deaths have been reported in the U.S.