New York Gov. Hochul declares state disaster emergency over monkeypox
July 30, 2022, 2:43 AM UTC / Updated July 30, 2022, 10:30 PM UTC
By Dennis Romero
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency Friday night over the continued spread of monkeypox. The announcement was followed Saturday by a public health emergency declaration in New York City.
Hochul said the emergency declaration would lead to swifter response and better vaccination distribution. It came a day after the New York State Commissioner of Health declared monkeypox an "imminent threat to public health."
“I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak,” Hochul tweeted Friday.
Hochul indicated the state is an emerging center for the virus, which manifests in symptoms of rashes and lesions across the body, extremities and genitals.
... The emergency, enacted through executive order, allows EMS personnel, pharmacists, midwives, physicians and certified nurse practitioners to administer vaccinations, the governor's office said in a statement.
The state was already in the process of securing more vaccines, expanding testing, and distributing information via a website and a text notification system, the governor's office said.
On Saturday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene commissioner, declared a public health emergency in the city.
The declaration allows the city health department to issue emergency commissioner's orders and amends health code provisions "to provide for measures to help slow the spread," the mayor's office said in a statement.
“New York City is currently the epicenter of the outbreak, and we estimate that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers may currently be at risk for monkeypox exposure," the statement said. "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."
July 30, 2022, 2:43 AM UTC / Updated July 30, 2022, 10:30 PM UTC
By Dennis Romero
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency Friday night over the continued spread of monkeypox. The announcement was followed Saturday by a public health emergency declaration in New York City.
Hochul said the emergency declaration would lead to swifter response and better vaccination distribution. It came a day after the New York State Commissioner of Health declared monkeypox an "imminent threat to public health."
“I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak,” Hochul tweeted Friday.
Hochul indicated the state is an emerging center for the virus, which manifests in symptoms of rashes and lesions across the body, extremities and genitals.
... The emergency, enacted through executive order, allows EMS personnel, pharmacists, midwives, physicians and certified nurse practitioners to administer vaccinations, the governor's office said in a statement.
The state was already in the process of securing more vaccines, expanding testing, and distributing information via a website and a text notification system, the governor's office said.
On Saturday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene commissioner, declared a public health emergency in the city.
The declaration allows the city health department to issue emergency commissioner's orders and amends health code provisions "to provide for measures to help slow the spread," the mayor's office said in a statement.
“New York City is currently the epicenter of the outbreak, and we estimate that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers may currently be at risk for monkeypox exposure," the statement said. "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."
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