The governor of the New York Kathy Hochul late on Friday declared an emergency in the state over the continued spread of monkeypox.

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)_Monitoring, “I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak,” Hochul tweeted. 

She added that more than one in four monkeypox cases in the United States are in New York, also having a disproportionate impact on at-risk groups, Reuters reported.

As of July 29, New York state had a total of 1,383 confirmed orthopoxvirus/monkeypox cases, according to New York Department of Health’s website.

Earlier on Friday, Brazil and Spain reported the first monkeypox-related deaths outside Africa, Reuters reported. 
The World Health Organization last week declared a global health emergency, its highest level of alert, over the monkeypox outbreak.