NEW YORK: New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency late Friday night due to the growing monkeypox cases in the state.
“I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak,” Hochul said in a statement.
New York is experiencing the highest rates of monkeypox transmission in the country, with 1,383 reported cases as of Friday, showed the state data.
“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond,” said Hochul.
The announcement came a day after the New York state commissioner of health declared monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”
Canada confirms 803 monkeypox cases
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed 803 cases of monkeypox in the country as of Sunday.
The health agency said that of the confirmed cases, 367 cases are from Ontario, 359 from Quebec, 61 from British Columbia, 13 from Alberta, two from Saskatchewan and one from the Yukon.
Theresa Tam, former Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, said the government has deployed over 70,000 doses of Imvamune vaccines and continues to work actively with jurisdictions to manage public health responses.
The World Health Organization has declared the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
India’s first monkeypox patient recovers
India’s first monkeypox case detected more than two weeks ago has recovered and tested negative on Saturday, confirmed health minister of the southern state Kerala Veena George.
“All samples were negative twice. The patient is physically and mentally healthy. The skin bumps are completely cured. He will be discharged today,” media reports quoted the minister as saying.
India has so far reported four monkeypox cases, with three of them in Kerala and the fourth infection in the national capital Delhi.
The first case, a 35-year-old resident of Kerala’s Kollam district, had tested positive after arriving from the United Arab Emirates. He reached the state on July 12 and was hospitalized with monkeypox symptoms on July 14.
Meanwhile, the health condition of the two other monkeypox cases in Kerala state remains satisfactory, and are still under medical observation.
