San Francisco declares emergency over monkeypox spread

By ERIC RISBERG and ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The mayor of San Francisco announced a state of emergency Thursday over the growing number of monkeypox cases. The declaration allows officials to mobilize personnel and cut through red tape to get ahead of a public health crisis reminiscent of the AIDS epidemic that devastated San Francisco in the 1980s. Gay advocates had grown increasingly frustrated by what they called San Francisco’s lackluster response. The virus has so far largely affected men who have sex with men but can infect anyone. San Francisco has nearly a third of California’s 800 cases. The emergency declaration takes effect Monday.