New York State Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state emergency Friday afternoon due to the continued spread of monkeypox.
“I am declaring a state disaster emergency to bolster our ongoing efforts to deal with the monkeypox outbreak,” Hochul tweeted.
He added that more than one in four cases of monkeypox in the United States are in New York, which also has a disproportionate impact on at-risk groups.
As of July 29, New York State had a total of 1,383 confirmed cases of orthopoxvirus/smallpox, according to the New York Department of Health website.
Earlier on Friday, Brazil and Spain reported the first monkeypox-related deaths outside of Africa.
The World Health Organization last week declared a global health emergency, its highest alert level, over the monkeypox outbreak.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bangalore; Editing by Toby Chopra)