TO:
FROM:
A
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City Manager
d po
September 12, 2022
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE .CITY MANAGER'S
PROCLAMATION OF LOCAL EMERGENCY IN RESPONSE TO THE
MONKEYPOX (MPX) VIRUS
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1 . Find that the proposed action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to state CEQA Guideline$ Section 15061 (b )(3) (Common Sense Exemption); and ·
2. Adopt a resolution ratifying the September 8, 2022, City Manager Proclamation of a Local Emergency - Monkeypox (MPX)
BACKGROUND:
MPX (pronounced "mpox") is a rare disease caused by infection with the MPX virus.
The MPX virus belongs to the orthopoxvirus g~nus which includes the variola (smallpox) virus. MPX was first identified in 1958. Historically, MPX cases had rarely occurred in the U.S. and had mostly been related to international travel or importation of animals.
Since May 2022, the World Health Organization has reported a multinational outbreak of MPX with over 48,000 cases worldwide in places where MPX has not been commonly seen, including in Europe, Canada, and the United States.
As of August 30, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified over 18,000 cases in the United States with 3,369 cases in California. Los Angeles County has reported 1,263 cases including 17 cases in Pasadena. MPX was declared a public health emergency in the ~J.S. on August 4, 2022.
MPX can spread through contact with body fluids, sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with fluids from sores of a person with MPX. Although MPX is not generally considered a sexually transmitted infection, it MEETING OF __ o_g_/_l_2_/_2_2 _ AGENDA ITEM NO. _9~---
RESOLUTION RATIFYING CITY MANAGER PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY September 12, 2022
can be transmitted during sex through prolonged skin-to-skin and other intimate contact, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. For most individuals, the current risk of MPX is low.
Pasadena Public Health Department efforts have focused on preventing transmission through education, vaccination, and case investigation and contact tracing. The Pasadena Public Health Department is providing access to the Jynneos vaccine, a safe and effective vaccine federally approved for prevention of MPX. Due to a very limited supply of currently available vaccine from the federal government, PPHD is providing MPX vaccines by invitation only based on CDC.eligibility criteria.
When MPX cases are reported, Department staff support patients with suspected or confirmed infection and work with the patient to recall everyone with whom they had close contact during the timeframe in which they may have been infectious. Department staff reach out to exposed people to share that they've been in close contact with an infected person and to give them information and support to help them keep themselves and their loved ones safe. These response efforts are time intensive and require additional resources including mobilization of other city staff.
The local emergency proclamation allows the City to take all actions necessary to implement preventive measures to protect and preserve public health, including, but not limited to, mobilizing City resources, accelerating emergency planning; streamlining staffing; coordinating across other agencies; expediting the ability of the City to purchase necessary supplies to combat MPX; allowing for future reimbursement by the state and federal governments; and raising awareness throughout Pasadena about MPX, including how people can lower their risk and stop the spread. If the local emergency proclamation is to remain in effect longer than seven days, City Council ratification of the local emergency is required.
Staff recommends City Council adopt a resolution ratifying the City Manager proclamation of a local emergency in response to the MPX virus and review the need for continuing the local emergency at least every 30 days until the local emergency is terminated.
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATION:
The proposed action is consistent with the City Council's strategic planning goal to ensure public safety by sustaining and enhancing the City's ongoing response to the MPX virus to protect the health and safety of Pasadena residents.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The actions proposed herein have been determined to be exempt from the CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b )(3), the common sense exemption (formerly the "general rule") that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty
RESOLUTION RATIFYING CITY MANAGER PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY September 12, 2022
that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The proposed resolution ratification does not involve any direct physical changes in the environment. Therefore, the actions proposed herein are exempt from CEQA per Section 15061 (b)(3) (common sense exemption).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The future costs of responding to MPX are unknown at this time due to evolving conditions. With the California state emergency proclamation, local MPX response efforts may be eligible for state or federal reimbursement. Until there is a final determination on potential reimbursement, all expenditures will be recorded and tracked in the Health Fund and/or General Fund using existing appropriations. To date, less than $10,000 has been expended in response to MPX.
Respectfully submitted,
~JJx= MIGUE~UEZ
City Manager
Attachments: City Council Resolution
Prepared by:
LISA DERDERIAN
Emergency Management
Coordinator/PIO
Local Emergency Proclamation - MPX