San Francisco plans monkeypox superspreader event after declaring emergency

San Francisco is moving ahead with its annual “Up Your Alley” sex festival despite declaring a health emergency over monkeypox, or what some have begun referring to as “PridePox”. The festival, known commonly as “Dore Alley”, is a leather fetish carnival that encourages same-sex casual encounters and public sexual demonstrations of “kink”.  

According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), San Francisco accounts for 257 out of the state’s 786 monkeypox cases, 91.7% of which occurred among people who were “Gay, Lesbian or same gender loving” and 5.6% of people who were “bisexual.” 

The City of San Francisco announced the state of emergency on Thursday, according to CBS News.  

Yet, not only do public health authorities refuse to advise men against having sex with other men to avoid spreading monkeypox, but they are also actively encouraging attendance at the “Dore Alley” festival. 

“We’ve heard from people who are worried about attending events out of fear of contracting monkeypox. We hope you partake while also taking steps to reduce your risk,” the AIDS Foundation said. It also advised revelers to “be aware, but not overly afraid”, “go to sex parties with people you know”, and even advised festival-goers to cover up bumps and rashes that might be monkeypox before a night of debauchery. 

The public health response to the monkeypox emergency is a far cry from that issued to COVID-19, in which the State of California banned residents from singing in their homes or holding private Bible study groups for fear of spreading the disease. 

San Francisco in particular rushed to implement restrictions even prior to state orders. 

But then, too, public health was placed on hold in favor of political agendas. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, considered the “Founding Father of Lockdowns”, maintained that the Black Lives Matter protests and gatherings in 2020 were justified, because racism carries with it “a serious risk and grave public health cost". 

And when the mainstream media reported massive street celebrations after they declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election, they did so with nary a word about “superspreaders,” a term they used to describe Trump rallies.