New York City became a monkeypox infection hotspot even before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its guidelines for the outbreak. But things started to improve when organizers of gay hookup parties put their events on pause.
Many of the Big Apple’s most popular spots for gay sex parties have shut down as monkeypox infections became a growing concern in several social circles. And organizers felt it had to be done considering the situation.
“[Monkeypox] definitely affected our business. It was like a double whammy after the 18-month pause with COVID,” Chris Hawke, an organizer of ticketed weekly gay sex party and social club GBU (Golden Boy USA), told Daily Beast.
Hawke admitted that many attendees voiced their concerns over the monkeypox outbreak as they were “freaked out and a little shell-shocked” upon seeing images of the disease online.
The invite-only gay sex party in Hell’s Kitchen called Members Only Club shut down on July 15. In its announcement, the club said it was halting its operations due to “unfortunate circumstances that quickly extended beyond our control.”
Gay bars and dark rooms, including The Cock, also helped address the troubling situation by getting the word out about monkeypox. They reached out to their clients to inform them about the risks.
“We have been aggressive in educating our clients through social media and in-house. We continue to require COVID vax proof and are frequently posting monkeypox info and vax availability on Twitter, Facebook and Insta, a representative for The Cock, located in NYC’s East Village, told the outlet.
Earlier this month, the U.S. CDC released a report on the impact of sexual networks in the transmission of monkeypox among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
“Modeling of sexual infection transmission between men indicates that one-time partnerships, which account for 3% of daily sexual partnerships and 16% of daily sex acts, account for approximately 50% of daily Monkeypox virus (MPXV) transmission,” the public health agency stated.
It continued, “A 40% reduction in one-time partnerships might delay the spread of monkeypox and reduce the percentage of persons infected by 20% to 31%.”
The CDC’s report suggested that the efforts of local gay sex parties to halt their operations helped lower the transmission of the virus in men who have sex with men.
Aside from the delayed gratification, it also helped that more people already received their first dose of the monkeypox vaccine in time for the reopening of the dark rooms and gay bars in the area.
