Health Canada claims to take the spread of monkeypox around the world very seriously and claims to have taken several initiatives to contain the epidemic on Canadian soil.

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Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to raise its highest alert level to combat this disease, the Health Administration of Canada (PHAC) issued a press release promising to continue working with provinces and territories.

“Since the epidemic began, protecting the health of all Canadians has been the top priority of the Canadian government,” PHAC said.

So far, 681 cases of monkeypox have been detected in five provinces in Canada. Ottawa, however, expects case numbers to continue rising in the coming weeks.

Here are seven actions PHAC is taking to combat monkeypox in Canada:

– Provide provincial and territorial control materials and protocols to support decentralized testing, case investigation and outbreak management.

– Funding announced to support community organizations in the hardest hit regions to quickly educate populations on how to protect themselves.

– Raising awareness of the most vulnerable populations through collaboration with NGOs, Chief Medical Officers of Health and affected communities.

– Provide public health officials and responders with the tools to manage cases.

– Regularly inform the population about the epidemic through public reports and through the website Canada.ca/monkeypox

– Taking the lead to improve the general understanding of the disease and the evolution of the pandemic by mobilizing experts and disseminating scientific knowledge.

– The Health Portfolio Operations Center and the National Microbiology Laboratory Operations Center have both activated Level 2 to support monkeypox response and assist in screening.