Gov Newsom declares State of Emergency in Response to California’s monkeypox outbreak

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency in response to the Monkeypox outbreak. The governor said the move will help bolster the state’s vaccination efforts.

The proclamation supports the work underway by the California Department of Public Health and others in the administration to coordinate a whole-of-government response to Monkeypox, seek additional vaccines and lead outreach and education efforts on accessing vaccines and treatment.

“California is working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of Monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure that those most at risk are our focus for vaccines, treatment and outreach,” said Governor Newsom. “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.”

Last month, California public health leaders urged federal partners to make more vaccine doses available to the state as quickly as possible so that the state can expand eligibility to both confirmed and probable exposures, as well as to individuals who are at high-risk of contracting the virus. To date, the state has distributed more than 25,000 vaccine doses and will make additional allocations in the coming days and weeks.

As of July 28th, The California Department of Public Health is reporting 786 cases statewide. Los Angeles and San Francisco Counties have the most cases both near the 260 case mark.

Riverside County is listed on the website as only having 17 cases, but on Monday, the County reported a total of 34 confirmed/probable cases.