San Francisco officials declared a state of emergency Thursday as the number of monkeypox cases hit 281 and continued to spread across the city.
Mayor London Breed and the city’s Department of Public Heath made the declaration, which will allow officials to mobilize additional resources and to accelerate funding and emergency planning to combat the outbreak of the virus that is spreading almost exclusively among gay and bisexual men and transgender and nonbinary people.
LGBTQ activists and health leaders have been sounding the alarm about monkeypox for weeks, saying they were inadequately prepared and overlooked by public health officials. Now, many state and local officials are joining the call for a better response to the outbreak — especially, efforts to get more vaccines.
As of Wednesday, the city health department reported 39 more monkeypox cases, including probable cases and those identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 281.
“We know that this virus impacts everyone equally — but we also know that those in our LGBTQ community are at greater risk right now,” Breed said in a statement.” Many people in our LGBTQ community are scared and frustrated. This local emergency will allow us to continue to support our most at-risk, while also better preparing for what’s to come.”
Monkeypox cases have continued to rise since late June in Los Angeles and San Francisco, coinciding with Pride weekends. Los Angeles reported 279 total cases as of Thursday. There are 799 total cases in California and more than 4,600 cases across the U.S., according to the CDC.
