Monkeypox: New York City Declares Health Emergency
Desk Report
Published: 31 Jul 2022, 12:27 pm
A staff member of the Westchester Medical Center prepares a monkeypox vaccine in a drive-through monkeypox vaccination point at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York, US, July 28, 2022 || Reuters Photo
The governor of the State of New York Kathy Hochul late on Friday declared an emergency in the state over the continued spread of monkeypox, reports Reuters.
"I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak," Hochul tweeted.
She added that more than one in four monkeypox cases in the United States are in New York, also having a disproportionate impact on at-risk groups.
As of July 29, New York state had a total of 1,383 confirmed orthopoxvirus/monkeypox cases, according to New York Department of Health's website.
Earlier on Friday, Brazil, and Spain reported the first monkeypox-related deaths outside Africa.
The World Health Organisation last week declared a global health emergency, its highest level of alert, over the monkeypox outbreak.