Measles Outbreak: Rockland Will Order Certain People To Stay Home

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Rockland County officials are pursuing other ways to protect public health while appealing a judge's ruling putting their measles State of Emergency on hold. For example, the county is issuing new orders requiring any person exposed to measles to stay home or face a significant fine.

"We are in the process of identifying individuals who will become the subject of health department orders," said Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Ruppert at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

This is not a quarantine, but it is about monitoring potential exposure, County Executive Ed Day said, talking about the recent case in which a person with measles went to Nyack Hospital and exposed 42 other people to the disease.

"What about their rights?" he said.

"We need those who have been exposed to behave responsibly," Ruppert said. "They should just stay home. They should not have company. Those exposed must stay home for 21 days. Those who have the measles, they must stay away from people for four days after the rash. They are definitely contagious four days before and four days after the rash appears."

Ruppert said officials were drawing up the criteria now. She said she'll be meeting with experts from the Centers from Disease Control Wednesday. In addition, New York state health officials have now sent more staffers and resources to Rockland to help with the outbreak, now in its sixth month, Ruppert said.

With the number of reported measles cases jumping to 168 from 151 in just 10 days, "What we feared has come to pass," Day said. Also, he said, "We have every belief that there are many more cases than have been reported — which should be a scary thought to everybody."

For another thing, affected Rockland schools must continue to comply with the December order that bans unvaccinated children from attending any school with a lower than 95% vaccination rate, officials argued.

Day said he agreed 100 percent with New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot who said the outbreak in Brooklyn was the fault of a small group of people spreading "dangerous misinformation based on fake science.” New York City declared an Emergency Tuesday, ordering mandatory vaccinations in the neighborhoods affected by the outbreak.

In his ruling Friday afternoon, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Rolf Thorse also said that unvaccinated students at the Green Meadow Waldorf School who are part of the lawsuit were allowed to return to school.

That too is a matter of legal dispute, Day said.

Day said 7 to 9 percent of Rockland's children 18 and under are unvaccinated.

SEE ALSO:

• Judge Issues Ruling Against County Measles Emergency Order
• Families In Suit Send Unvaccinated Schoolchildren Back To Class
• De Blasio Declares Public Health Emergency For BK Measles Crisis