The governor Pedro Pierluisi declared a State of Emergency due to the coronavirus monkey pox (monkeypox) to empower the Health Department to implement the necessary efforts and measures to safeguard the health, well-being, and public safety of citizens, given the increase in cases reported in Puerto Rico in recent days.
As reported by La Fortaleza in a statement, yesterday the president signed the Executive Order 2022-044 in which it orders the Department of the Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and the Financial and Fiscal Advisory Authority (AAFAF), that, in accordance with the applicable laws, take the corresponding steps to allocate to the DS all the resources financial resources necessary to attend to this emergency, including access to the Emergency Fund.
Until the middle of this week, 114 confirmed cases, some 39 suspected cases, 36 close contacts and six people under investigation by Health had been reported in Puerto Rico, while 1,675 people had been vaccinated for monkeypox in Puerto Rico.
In the United States, by August 11, 10,768 confirmed cases had already been reported in 52 jurisdictions, which is why the federal government declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
“This reality requires that all components of society join forces in order to prevent the contagion and spread of monkeypox. Also, given the imminent impact of this disease on our Island, the Government of Puerto Rico sees the need to implement all necessary measures to prevent and control the spread of this disease and protect the well-being of our citizens,” said Pierluisi in the Executive Order that will take effect immediately and that will last for 30 days.
Read the executive order:
“It is essential to declare an emergency in order to continue expanding the response that the Department of Health has implemented to address the international outbreak of monkeypox at the local level. Also, With the declaration of emergency, the necessary resources can be guaranteed to strengthen the surveillance, detection, prevention, vaccination, and corresponding treatments in order to attend to the spread of this disease with the promptness and efficiency that it deserves,” the governor added.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic infection endemic to several countries in Africa, which can be transmitted from animals to humans and can also spread between people.
In interview with The new dayon Tuesday, the main medical officer of Health, Iris Cardonapointed out that although community transmission of the virus has been detected since last month, the outlook in the archipelago is more encouraging than in other jurisdictions.
“I wouldn’t say (it’s) controlled. What I would say is that the rate of infection is slowing down. We always said that we do not live alone in the world, we knew that at some point it would come. The world has more than 42,000 cases. The United States also has tens of thousands of cases. […] Nevertheless, Although it is going at a rate that worries us, it is not as dramatic as in New York, Spain or Belgium. But the pattern of who the affected people are is the same as what is being seen in other countries around the world,” she stressed.
On May 7, the first cases of monkeypox outside of Africa were reported, so on May 16 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Monkeypox Health Notice. Four days later, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an advisory to the nation regarding this disease.
La Fortaleza outlined that, immediately followingwards, the local Health Department activated its Emergency Operations Center at level 3, as established in the agency’s Emergency Operational Plan. Subsequently, Salud issued a notice on monkeypox in Puerto Rico and since then began a process of training and educating health professionals on this international outbreak.
In June, Health published the Short Guide to Epidemiological Surveillance for Monkeypox in Puerto Rico which included epidemiological and clinical criteria, case investigation, coordination, collection, handling and packaging of samples for the virus and control and prevention recommendations for health providers in the handling of samples. On July 23, the WHO declared the international outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
