County says monkeypox cases are rare

One person had a confirmed case of Monkeypox in Mason County, but a county official said it’s unlikely that “a lot of” cases will occur.

According to Mason County Public Health Nurse Audrey O’Connor, there was one case and one contact from the case who has been treated. There were 650 cases in the state as of Sept. 2, with most of those cases in either King, Pierce or Clark counties.

O’Connor said case rates have declined steeply in the past two weeks in urban areas such as New York City and Chicago.

“We really don’t expect we’re going to have a lot of cases,” O’Conno...