Writer : Edwin Shri Bimo | Editor : Ivory Persada
New York City Department of Health and Mental Health officials help residents register for the monkeypox vaccine, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in New York. The New York City Government on Saturday (30/7/2022) when New York declared a public health emergency due to the outbreak and spread of the monkeypox virus. (Source: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK, KOMPAS.TV — The New York City government on Saturday (30/7/2022) local time declared a public health emergency due to the outbreak and spread of the monkeypox virus, and declared the city the ‘center’ of the outbreak.
As report Associated PressSunday (31/7), Saturday’s announcement by Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of being infected with monkeypox.
The declaration would allow city officials to issue emergency orders under a city health code or code and amend the code’s provisions to implement measures that would help slow the spread of the outbreak.
In the past two days, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a state disaster emergency declaration and the state health department said: monkeypox or monkeypox as an ‘immediate threat to public health.’
New York recorded 1,345 cases as of Friday, according to data compiled by the CDC’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California ranks second, with 799 cases of infection.
“We will continue to work with our federal partners to secure more (vaccine) doses as soon as they become available,” Adams and Vasan said in a statement.
“This outbreak must be faced with urgency, action and resources, both nationally and globally, and this declaration of a public health emergency reflects the seriousness of the moment.”
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A health professional prepares a dose of monkeypox vaccine at the Edison city vaccination center in Paris Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The New York City government Saturday, July 30, 2022, when New York declared a public health emergency due to the outbreak and spread of the monkeypox virus. (Source: Alain Jocard, Pool via AP, File)
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency on July 23 and the mayor of San Francisco on Thursday declared a state of emergency over the growing number of cases.
The once-rare disease was found and was endemic in parts of central and western Africa for decades but was not known to trigger large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until last May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America. , and elsewhere.
To date, there have been more than 22,000 cases of monkeypox reported in nearly 80 countries since May, with about 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mostly in Nigeria and Congo.
On Friday, Brazil and Spain reported deaths linked to monkeypox, the first to be reported outside Africa. Spain reported its second death from monkeypox on Saturday.
The virus is spread through prolonged and close skin-to-skin contact and sharing bedding, towels and clothing.
In Europe and North America, the virus spreads mainly among men who have sex with other men, although health officials stress the virus can infect anyone.
The monkeypox virus strain identified in this outbreak is rarely fatal, and people usually recover within a few weeks. But the lesions and blisters caused by the virus are painful.
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