New York state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said they foresee the monkeypox virus to continue to spread as reported cases begin to pop up more in the upstate region, whereas the brunt of cases have so far been in New York City.

“We expect the number of cases to increase,” Bassett said in New York City on Wednesday, adding the state has the highest numbers in the country by far. "This reflects both dyagnostic and ascertainment and it reflects ongoing transmission within communities."

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that can cause severe illness, hospitalization and, rarely, death. The risk of contracting the disease for the general public is low.

The state has reported 679 confirmed cases of the virus, with 639 of them in New York City. In upstate, Albany County and Tompkins County identified their first cases on Tuesday and Orange County did the same on Wednesday.

Bassett said the spread of monkeypox is greatly affecting LGBT communities.

"Anyone can get monkeypox, but right now this is spreading in networks where men have sex with other men," Bassett said.

Bassett said the virus spreads through long skin-to-skin contact with a person with a rash or blisters on the body.

“Consider the level of risk in clubs, raves, saunas and other parties,” she said.

The health commissioner said there are not yet enough monkeypox vaccines for everyone who wants or is eligible to get one. She said New York officials are continuing to push the federal government for more supply. As of Tuesday, the state is being allocated 8,822 additional doses by the federal government while New York City is getting its own allocation of 23,963 doses. After initially sending doses only to Saratoga County, there will be 600 sent to Erie County, 600 to Monroe County and 300 to Saratoga County under the statewide distribution. Albany County is getting 40.

"I know everyone wants to move quickly on this; FDA is the gold standard on this," said White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha on the monkeypox vaccine allocation.