California has become the latest state to declare a state of emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the declaration on Monday as the state recently eclipsed 800 monkeypox cases, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The declaration will allow California to deploy personnel from the Emergency Medical Services to administer the vaccine, as well as utilize all levels of government to increase contract tracing and testing efforts, per CNBC.
“We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization,” Newsom said in a statement.
The CDC considers monkeypox to be rarely fatal, but it can still cause painful lesions and blisters and potentially hinder someone’s ability to swallow or perform bowel movements, depending on its location. While researchers found in a study that was conducted from April to June that 98 percent of cases comprised of men who have sex with men, monkeypox can also be transmitted through skin-to-skin or close physical contact, or using everyday items, such as bedding or towels, previously exposed to someone with the virus.
ABC News reports at least four children have tested positive for monkeypox.
California is the third state to declare a state of emergency over the monkeypox outbreak in less than a week. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state emergency on Friday as the state has the most cases in the country with nearly 1,400. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker followed suit on Monday in an effort to “expand the resources” needed to address the state’s growing number of cases.
The World Health Organization designated monkeypox as a global health emergency late last month. According to Politico, the Biden administration could soon declare monkeypox a public health emergency.
As of Tuesday, there are just over 5,800 cases in the United States.
