Washington, US

There's a growing concern over the spread of monkeypox around the world. In the United States, the New York state has issued a declaration calling monkeypox disease an "imminent" threat. Meanwhile, the city of San Francisco Thursday (July 28) announced a state of emergency. 

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As per the San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco has 281 cases, out of about 800 in California. The declaration will come into effect from Monday. 

In a news conference, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said: "We are at a very scary place. And we don't want to be ignored by the federal government in our need." 

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"So many leaders of the LGBT community have also, weeks ago, asked for additional help and support and assistance," she said, adding that the city is in "desperate need of vaccines." 

The decision has been welcomed by gay advocates. As quoted by the local media outlets, the gay advocates have also said that the response to a virus so far has affected primarily men who have sex with men. Experts have, however, noted that anyone can get infected, not just gay men. 

On the other hand, New York State Health Commissioner Dr Mary Bassett on Thursday declared the disease an "imminent threat." So far, New York has recorded at least 1,341 cases. 

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In a statement, Bassett said, "Based on the ongoing spread of this virus, which has increased rapidly and affected primarily communities that identify as men who have sex with men, and the need for local jurisdictions to administer vaccines, I've declared monkeypox an Imminent Threat to Public Health throughout New York state." 

Bassett said that this "declaration means that local health departments engaged in response and prevention activities will be able to access additional state reimbursement, after other federal and state funding sources are maximized, to protect all New Yorkers and ultimately limit the spread of monkeypox in our communities." 

If we talk about US, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday that it is planning to make the monkeypox disease a nationally notifiable condition. 

As per CDC, over 3,500 monkeypox cases were reported in the United States as of Tuesday. 

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