Rockland County ends state of emergency on measles outbreak

Rockland County Executive Ed Day has ended the countywide state of emergency related to the measles outbreak.

“One hundred twenty-two days ago, I stood in this same room, with health officials, business leaders, law enforcement and many of you to declare a state of emergency in Rockland County,” Day said during a press conference. “On that day in March, we had 153 confirmed cases of measles. Today we have 283. The state of emergency has ended, but our outbreak is not yet over.”

Day noted that confirmed measles cases have been in decline over the past three months, from a peak of 45 cases in April to seven cases to date in July. At the same time, MMR vaccinations have increased by 52.5% since the original state of emergency declaration on March 26.

The measles outbreak created disruptions at businesses across Rockland County that were identified as exposure sites for the transmittable virus. Earlier this month, the New York chapter of the American Camping Association filed a lawsuit against the Rockland County Department of Health, Commissioner of Health Patricia S. Ruppert and five members of the board of health that challenged the constitutionality of June 24 orders requiring camps provide medical information on summer campers and staff as part of emergency orders to combat measles. In May, Day visited the Turtleboo indoor children”™s entertainment center in Spring Valley to show support to its owner, Shimon Singer, after he became the subject of threatening telephone calls from anti-vaccination advocates following a CNN interview where he said he would vaccinate his infant daughter.

And while the state of emergency is lifted, the health department said it would continue to issue commissioner’s orders requiring isolation for those exposed to measles.