Illinois has the third most monkeypox cases of any state, behind only New York and California.
Pritzker’s declaration, which marks the state as a monkeypox “disaster area, ” will allow public health officials to more aggressively respond to the outbreak, the governor’s office said.“MPV is a rare, but potentially serious disease that requires the full mobilization of all available public health resources to prevent the spread,” Pritzker said in a statement.
The declaration, effective immediately and in place for 30 days, allows state agencies to coordinate more efficiently and use new tools in the fight against the disease, the governor’s statement said.The Illinois Department of Public Health can now expand vaccine and testing capacities with the help of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and get access to state and federal recovery and assistance funds, the statement said.
Illinois is currently reporting 520 confirmed or presumed monkeypox cases, the governor’s statement said. Nearly a tenth of the country’s cases have appeared in Illinois.Most of the state’s cases have occurred in Chicago, among the hardest-hit cities across the entire country. Chicago saw a sharp increase in reported infections last week, with a total of 326 cases reported as of Wednesday.