371 cases out of a population of 4.5 million is an epidemic?
371 registered cases means many more uncounted.
Well how else do you get publicity and more funding?
Create a mini-panic and everyone takes notice and money
If the outbreak is clustered in the gay male demographic, which seems to be the case, you have 371 x some multiplier likely > 2, as cunning_fish points out, in a population of around 65,000-70,000, by my math. So around 1%-2%.
Non-trivial, worth pointing out and getting the word out when it comes to a completely avoidable malady. Especially if the numbers are still on the upswing.