>> now from abc7, lie breaking news. >> breaking news in san francisco, set to become the first city in the nation to declare a local public health emergency for monkeypox as city officials take action in responding to the rapidly increasing number of cases. thank you for joining us, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm ama daetz. mayor breed is expected to make a statement shortly. turning to leah melendez from the newsroom with what this means. >> while we wait for the mayor to make that announcement, let's remind everyone san francisco was the first in the nation to declare a stay-at-home order for covid. now the city is once again taking the lead by declaring a public health emergency because

of the spread of monkeypox. you are looking at a live picture of the podium, where the mayor will address san franciscans shortly. new york city, los angeles, big cities with a large number of cases, have yet to declare any kind of emergency. new york state came close, but issued a declaration, calling it an imminent threat to public health. as san francisco waits for more vaccines to arrive, city officials took an important step towards addressing the spread of monkeypox, declaring a public health emergency. the san francisco aids foundation, which has pleaded for more vaccines, applauded today's decision. here's what it means for the city. >> resources that can be allocated in the city as a result of declaring monkeypox a public health emergency will help us in a more robust response locally as we

reallocate the spread. but a federal response would allow more national resources to be deployed, hopefully to allow for a stronger ramp up of access to testing treatments and a vaccine. >> the biden administration expected to do the same. the announcement will come from the secretary of the department of health and human services. >> we will weigh any decisions on declaring a public health emergency based on the response through the country. bottom line, we need to stay ahead of it and be able to contain the outbreak. >> 4900 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the u.s.. san francisco's health department has 281 confirmed cases in the city. >> it is a tiny one. that one actually started off as yellow with pus. >> he was diagnosed with monkeypox earlier in the week. >> i was in denial, i was like there has to be another way.

it has been over a month and i haven't had sex, how could this be? >> as the medical community has warned, the lesions are extremely painful. >> some kind of medication was prescribed? >> they gave me some type of loader came cream, which has not helped. they also provided me with vicodin, and it also did not help with the pain. >> as more cases emerge, the fda announced it approved the release of 786,000 doses over the coming weeks. san francisco is expecting about 4200 this week. i think the mayor will explain what resources and manpower will be put in play to address the spread of monkeypox. but in the end, city health officials know that unless the city gets more vaccines, there's not much else they can do. lyanne melendez, abc7news.

>> a live look at the podium at city hall. we await mayor london breed, who is expected to declare a local public health emergency for monkeypox. we will bring her announcement live when it begins. expected any moment. we have everything you need to know about monkeypox, including vaccines and treatment, go to abc7news.com. >> monkeypox has been a major public health issue gripping the attention of the public and health officials. a group of doctors is warning people not to forget about the threat covid continues to pose. hospitalization rates and deaths will only increase closer to winter. sac fly and has more. >> the world has come a long way since the earliest days of the pandemic when little was known about covid-19 and when vaccines were a distant possibility. local doctors fear we are getting too comfortable. >> part of what we have been

told is covid is smile now. people have been hospitalized, so it is ok to get it. this is wrong. >> she says messaging that more covid treatment puts us at less risk is wrong. that was brought up i the white house press secretary on the view. >> right now, you can get a vaccine, boosters, the same treatment the president had, paxlovid. >> she says locally, it is not that simple. >> as a prescribing provider, i spent on the first paxlovid prescription i had to make, i had to call three different pharmacies. that was hard for me. imagine how hard it would be for the person who needs paxlovid. >> through the summer, many of us got used to being without mask mandates. but with the possibility of other variants emerging, we are setting ourselves up for a dangerous winter. >> we will be inside, it will be cold, you will not want to open the windows are the doors, we will gather for the holidays. that is when this will go out of

control. will it be a variant resistant to our vaccines, because more disability? we don't even know. >> doctors feel mask mandates won't be effective because health officials implement them but can't enforce them. better messaging from government and education on proper masking will be key to keeping communities safe. >> ba.5 doesn't claire -- doesn't care if you are wearing a mask. you need a kn95 or n95. >> sac fly test, abc7 -- zach fuentes, abc7 news. >> listening to the mayor talk about the public health emergency for public monkeypox. >> rapidly increasing at one point, 16, 80, 140. it was 140, i sent a letter to the secretary of the department of health and services expressing significant concern and urgency for the need for

vaccines in san francisco and that we are at a very scary place. we don't want to be ignored by the federal government in our need. so many leaders of the lgbt community have also weeks ago asked for additional health and support and assistance. this was july 20. and here we are. july 28. and we are double that number at 281 cases of monkeypox and in desperate need of vaccines. to put that in perspective in terms of the numbers, we received about 12,000 vaccines to date. we really need 70,000. we sent in a letter asking for about 35,000.

what we want to do is prevent the numbers from increasing. we have a solution in the vaccines. we want to make sure everyone who is requesting a vaccine gets one. we have five sites identified in san francisco and have to close many of them because we ran out of vaccines. we are all here because we know the importance of this. we know the challenges of what happens in san francisco when we put public health on the back burner. we have seen this happen before in history. during the aids crisis, when san francisco was virtually left on its own to fend for itself, to address what became a real pandemic in this country. and we use the examples of the work we did during the aids

crisis to fight against the discrimination, the hate, to focus on public health. this is about public health of the residents of our city. so by sounding the alarm, we are saying it will not be ignored, that this is a public health crisis, that we are in desperate need of vaccines to support the people of san francisco. here to talk specifically about what it is happening in the department of look health, and what we will push for and fight for and what the declaration of emergency will do and represent and help us with in san francisco as the director of public health. -- is the director of public health. >> good evening, everybody. thank you, mayor for your

leadership. and i want to thank senator wiener, supervisors dorsey for joining us. today's announcement is a critical piece of our city's response to the monkeypox outbreak. by declaring it is a local health emergency, we are making sure everyone understands this is a threat to our entire community. and as the mayor has mentioned, our city has a rich history of elevating, celebrating, and advocating for the lives of the lgbtq plus community. we have always as a city and community been at the forefront of advocacy, treatment, research for medical conditions that disproportionately impact our lgbtq plus community.

this is personal for me. as a gay man who came out and did my medical training during the peak of the aids epidemic, i personally and professionally experienced the indifference, homophobia, and the stigma by the medical and public health institutions with regard to prioritizing hiv prevention and care. but san francisco's community driven and responsive care systems were a notable exception. and today, we seek to emulate that history by elevating our response to this disease. this declaration will allow us to serve the city and its residents better. our covid-19 response has taught us it is imperative we mobilize city resources rapidly. this declaration helps ensure

that we have the tools available to augment our outreach, testing, vaccines, and treatment. particularly and especially in the lgbtq plus community. thank you. it is my pleasure to introduce dr. susan philip, our public health officer. >> thank you so much, mayor breed and dr. koufax for your words. good afternoon. my name is dr. susan philip. the health officer for the city and county of san francisco. as health officer, i'm issuing this declaration to affirm our commitment to the well-being of the communities that dr. koufax mentioned our lgbtq communities to allow us to move more quickly to obtain and distribute the resources needed to help those who are disproportionately

impacted. within the lgbtq communities, we know that latino men who are gay men, bisexual men, other men who have sex with men and are being impacted. we are so happy to work with our community-based organization partners, such as dr. tyler to mere who is with the san francisco aids foundation and their amazing team. and partners who have particular expertise and work from within and for the latino communities in san francisco. san francisco will not leave anyone behind in this critical moment. we understand the difficulties trying to get them vaccinated. let's make no mistake, even though no one has died of monkeypox, it is causing severe suffering and pain for any individuals. there are people unable to eat, urinate, or have a bowel movement due to pain. i know these are strong words,

but this is why we must act now to preserve the health, reduce suffering of our fellow san franciscans. this declaration will help us seize the process of vaccine distribution, and send a message to the federal government san francisco is in dire need of more vaccines. we've had to prioritize first doses of vaccines to get vaccines to as many people who could benefit from it as possible in san francisco. from the time being, we will defer the second appointment until it improves. we will notify the community when the supply is sufficient to schedule the second doses. this is our best strategy at this moment to keep san franciscans as protected as possible while supplies are limited. i want to introduce senator scott wiener, who has been a strong champion for the health of gay men and all of our lgbtq

communities in san francisco during our outbreak. >> thank you. i want to thank mayor breed and dr. koufax, dr. philip for this declaration of a state of emergency, which i think is incredibly important. i'm so proud to be a san franciscan and live in a city where our city as a whole and leadership really value public health and understand what public health is about. just like the city did and our mayor and the department of public health did so quickly at the beginning of the covid pandemic. just like this city did 40 plus years ago when the federal government completely and utterly abandoned our community

when gay and bisexual men were just dying in droves, and absolute mass die off and the federal government completely abandoned us and san francisco stood strong and prioritized, focused, and build public health infrastructure to try and save lives. so i'm proud to be a san franciscan. what is frustrating is what is happening now is completely preventable. we need to always remember that. because this won't be the last virus that impacts us. completely preventable, unlike covid and hiv. monkeypox is not some new, mysterious disease that just appeared. we have known about this virus for more than half a century. we know what it is. we know about its spread. and there is actually a vaccine and treatment already.

and yet as monkeypox started accelerating in west africa, over the last number of years, spreading more and more, the world didn't do anything. instead of flooding africa with vaccines to try and stomp out this outbreak, 3, 4, 5 years ago, the world did nothing because it was africa. unfortunately there is a long history of that. experts were telling us for years monkeypox, it was a matter of time before it spread outside of africa to europe, north america, and elsewhere. unfortunately, the u.s. didn't do enough to prepare. purchased very few doses of vaccines to get ready. with the experts told us has happened has happened.

the good news is despite a sluggish start at the federal level, our local health officials at the state level sprung into action quickly and at all levels, we are going in the same direction. we just need to grow a lot faster and we need more vaccines yesterday, we need more manufacturers of this vaccine, one manufacturer is not enough. it needs to be licensed to a number of pharmaceutical companies who can manufacture not 5 million or 6 million doses, but tens of million doses for the u.s., and tens of millions of doses for africa, europe, and everywhere else. otherwise it will spread out of control. we have a small window of time to control this outbreak. if we don't, it might become endemic and we will have to deal with it forever. i'm very happy to report at the

state level, a group of legislators working together with the administration that we are making a budget request to provide support to our county public health departments. they will have to stand up to testing, vaccination sites, and do a lot of education and grassroots outreach. and we should not let the counties have to do this on their own. they are already underfunded. so the state needs to step up area we have a budget surplus and provide resources to our county public health departments. >> you are listening to scott weiner talk about how this was preventable. monkeypox, this is a news conference in san francisco. local health officials talk about how they have declared a local public health emergency. any more vaccines for monkeypox. we will continue monitoring this news conference. watch it on our mobile app and abc7news.com.

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>> in san francisco, the second suspect accused of beating a beloved activist in the fillmore district is in custody. > an unexpected twist. as tara campbell tells us, it is a testament to the community taking action. >> applause for james spiegel. the beloved activist couple of weeks ago beaten by two men outside of the community center, he's the executive director. one suspect on the spot arrested. the other running free until yesterday. >> he had the audacity to come back to our space. >> the second suspect returning to the community center. >> eye contact connected, he ano action. >> it was like he's not going to get away from us this time. >> a community apb going out and

the fillmore district responding. >> we cornered him in our tennis courts and we got out of there and ran up fillmore street, where the other community was up there. the community got him and police at the corner, we got him arrested. >> members of the community gathered thursday at third baptist church, calling for action. reverend brown leading the way. >> it is time for somebody to say something and do something. >> bringing together san francisco police, the city, and faith leaders to come up with solutions to rising vandalism and violence amid the homelessness crisis. >> it is not ok to be jumping my fence and using drugs, or be in my community setting up anything. >> as for his health, he says he's on the mend. how are you feeling injury wise? >> i'm going to be honest, there is some trauma. >> traumatized by the beating, struck a two by fours and

hospitalized. >> i'm injured for life, no question. >> his left i will likely never be the same, left with vision loss. >> i think i messed far healed as i will get. it is not 80%. it will be a deadeye from now on. >> thankful for the community getting behind him and demanding change. >> at what point do we say enough is enough? the community is saying enough is enough. >> tara campbell, abc7 news. >> it is disability pride month. karina nova had an in-depth conversation with disability advocates about some of the most pressing issues facing that community. here's part of that conversation from our latest allies in action streaming special. >> we have a lot of terms and phrases people use every single day that you don't even think about how that could be inappropriate or offensive. what about you? >> the first thing we have to

recognize is language is fluent, always changing, and we are always learning. as long as people are receptive to learning new ways of saying things, that is what really matters, saying well know, you are a cripple. that is what i learned in that is who you are. that is when we have a problem. >> stream the entire 30 minute special on demand through our abc7 bay area streaming tv app available to everyone with a roku, amazon fire, or apple tv. find the special in the new and popular section. >> we are in the precipice of the weekend. checking the weather. >> i was telling you, is it winter? >> you are absolutely right. things changed rapidly. we have clouds stacked up. low clouds and fog near the coast. higher clouds up above. adding the haze to the mix, it feels like what happened to

summer? live pictures from our tower camera. that is monsoon moisture. certainly fog socking in the golden gate bridge. it is moderate near the oak fire. but once again, the smoke from the oak fire and upper levels will linger. not just tonight, but tomorrow. expect hazy skies from time to time like now from the east bay hills camera. good air quality expected at the surface. we are still expecting impacts. they are quality advisory on through today. you see the sierra, thunderstorms. some showers. but some cloud cover spilling over into our area, which is why you may have seen tropical clouds. taking a look at temperatures, 50's to the 90's well inland. tomorrow morning, nice cooling. some drizzle. cloudy start, 50's, 60's. tomorrow afternoon, clouds

lingering your coast. 60's to 90's. accuweather 7 day forecast. sunshine and breezy tomorrow. slightly higher temperatures. we are monitoring the monsoon moisture, we could have a possibility of thunderstorm or showers. stay tuned. >> the san jose sharks patrick marleau will be the first player to be retired in franchise history. he will retire his number 12 jersey in 2023. he was drafted by the sharks in 1997 at 17 years of age, making him the youngest player to debut in the nhl since 1945. he has played the most games in nhl history and holds a number of franchise records, including 552 goals and 100,111 points. i can't think of anyone better to retire a jersey. >> what an honor. >> world news is next. we appreciate your time.

>> for sandhya patel and all of us, thank you for joining us. our next newscast is at 6:00. see you then. until then, have a look at winter.

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the tribes, so they get less. hidden agendas. fine print. loopholes. prop 27. they didn't write it for the tribes or the homeless. they wrote it for themselves. tonight, the new and deadly flooding emergency. the rescues, the families inside their homes on countertops, on their rooftops with flood waters rising. the emergency unfolding in kentucky. several other states bracing, too. and in the northeast tonight, severe storms now possible. the heavy rain and flash flood warnings now in effect across several states. tonight, kentucky's governor calling this some of the most devastating flooding in that state's history. the death toll expected to rise. hundreds of homes possibly destroyed. our team standing by in the flood zone. also as we come on tonight, those new watches and warnings in the northeast at this hour. a confirmed ef-2 tornado hitting buffalo, new york, winds up to 115 miles per hour. and the dangerous heat tonight across multiple states.

rob marciano timing this out. the major news tonight on