Pride events can continue as planned despite monkeypox concerns: Health Min.

The Pride events starting at the end of this month can continue as planned despite the monkeypox outbreak in Europe, Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said on Friday. "Be careful and take your precautions," he said to attendees, De Telegraaf reports.

On Thursday, the public health institute RIVM said it had identified 402 cases of monkeypox in the Netherlands, up from 352 earlier this week. The virus mainly spreads through skin-to-skin contact and, in this current outbreak, seems to be primarily spreading among men who have multiple sexual contacts with other men. The RIVM, therefore, raised concerns that monkeypox would spread at Pride Amsterdam and the other Pride events in the Netherlands.

To slow down the spread of the virus, Kuipers announced on Thursday that the Netherlands is launching a vaccination campaign among high-risk groups for monkeypox. The campaign will focus on men and transgender people who use HIV-PrEP, a pill that can prevent an HIV infection, or are on the waiting list for PrEP. Sex workers, men, and transgender people who are HIV positive and at higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection are also part of the campaign. In total, it concerns about 32,000 people.

Those who contract monkeypox can suffer from fever, headache, muscle aches, and general malaise. After a few days, a rash with blisters appears on the skin. People do not usually become seriously ill from an infection.