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An animated explanation of measles.
Chris Brown, [email protected]
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Citing pockets of resistance that hinder the county's efforts to stem a measles outbreak that has reached 153 cases since October, Rockland officials have declared the state of emergency.
Starting at midnight, anyone under the age of 18 who has not been vaccinated against measles will be banned from public places. This prohibition will last until the declaration expires in 30 days or until the persons are vaccinated.
The places covered by the ban include shopping centers, restaurants, schools and places of worship. Outdoor gathering places are not included.
Ed Day, Rockland County Executive, announces the state of emergency in Rockland County following the measles outbreak. (Photo: Peter Carr / The News Journal)
The county will issue signs explaining the ban this afternoon and will post them in public spaces included in the ban.
Although the Rockland epidemic mainly affected members of the Orthodox Jewish community, Ed Day, a Rockland County leader, said there were no religious exceptions.
The county executive said the time was set to coincide with family reunions during the next Easter and Easter holidays.
Failure to do so will result in a six-month prison sentence or a $ 500 fine, although Mr. Day said that the police would not be deployed to any place seeking proof of vaccination.
The announcement came days after county health officials announced the opening of six new exhibition sites in Spring Valley and Monsey, including Target, the Fresh Fresh supermarket, the Plaza atrium, Designer's Spot, and the loop. Eastbound and International Taxi.
It was the first time that the county has been publishing new exhibition sites since the Thanksgiving weekend. Measles cases have slowly increased. On March 21, the county announced a total of 150 confirmed cases of measles since the beginning of the outbreak in October.
Public health officials refused to declare state of emergency in Rockland last month after measles drew the country 's attention due to a statement of concern. epidemic and an emergency declaration in the state of Washington. Officials said they have been regularly organizing emergency preparedness calls with local health units since October, after activating its incident management system. At the time, there were 137 cases of measles in total in the county.
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The Rockland exhibition sites are located primarily in Monsey or Spring Valley, and advocates of vaccination against vaccination last fall, used a hotline called Akeres HaBayis for tell parents to continue sending their children to school.
However, health officials in Rockland warned that due to the small size of the county, any unvaccinated person was at risk of measles.
The Rockland County legislator, Aron Wieder, of D-Spring Valley, said he had reserved his comments until he heard more details. He was not aware of the anticipated state of emergency until the press announcement.
"Overall, I think people should be aware of this terrible disease," said Wieder, a Hassidic. "I think there is a false impression that members of the Orthodox Jewish community are not vaccinated.It is not the case.I am vaccinated.All my children are vaccinated."
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Targeted Schools
The Rockland County Health Commissioner, Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, ordered on December 5 that schools in postal codes 10952 and 10977 with vaccination rates below 95% should prevent unvaccinated children from attending this facility.
Nine yeshivas were fined in November for failing to report unvaccinated students. A federal judge denied a temporary injunction allowing unvaccinated students to return to school at the Green Meadow Waldorf School after their parents filed lawsuits against the county.
In a letter to all superintendents of Rockland County Public Schools this afternoon, Mary Jean Marsico, CEO of BOCES, said that although she expects more information, the "responsibility of the "Application" was the responsibility of the parent or guardian of the child.
Marsico said he had discussed with the Department of Health and the Rockland County Executive's Office. Once additional information is provided, schools will be informed of the appropriate course of action.
On March 19, the New York City Department of Health reported 181 cases of measles. A new outbreak of eight measles cases in New Jersey began earlier this month after the outbreak of an outbreak related to that of New York in January.
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The first cases of measles in New York and New Jersey in October came from travelers from Israel or returning from Israel. This measles outbreak affected more than 3,400 people and killed at least two people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified 314 cases of measles in 2019 through March 21 in 15 states, including New York, New Jersey and Washington.
In the United States, measles has been eliminated due to high vaccination rates, but outbreaks of measles outbreaks may occur in non-vaccinated or under-vaccinated areas due to travelers presenting with measles from from the United States, officials said.
Follow Matt Spillane, Rochel Leah Goldblatt and Nancy Cutler on Twitter: @MattSpillane, @ReporterRox and @nancyrockland
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/03/26/rockland-declare-state-emergency-measles-outbreak/3279803002/
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