The New York City Department of Health declared monkeypox a public health emergency over the weekend as Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly issued a state of disaster declaration over the virus.
With the declaration over the weekend, New York City is now the second U.S. city after San Francisco to issue such an order for the virus, which officials have said is mostly spreading among homosexual males.
“We estimate that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers may currently be at risk for monkeypox exposure,” Mayor Eric Adams and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the head of the New York City health and mental hygiene department, said in a joint statement Saturday. “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.”…