New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan on Saturday declared a public health emergency due to the spread of monkeypox, calling the city the “epicenter” of the epidemic.
“This outbreak needs to be addressed urgently, with action and resources, both nationally and globally, and this declaration of a public health emergency reflects the gravity of the moment,” they warned in a joint statement. , adding that they will continue to work with federal partners “to deliver more doses as they become available.”
The two officials also said up to 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection.
Declaring the health emergency will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city’s health code and change code provisions to implement measures to slow the spread.
New York had recorded 1,345 cases on Friday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, followed by California with 799 cases.
Two days earlier, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul called monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern.
“According to the WHO assessment, the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions except the European region, where we estimate the risk to be high,” said the director. general of the WHO.
With MAP