A county in New York City’s northern suburbs is banning unvaccinated minors from public places to fight a measles outbreak that has infected more than 150 people since October.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day says at a news conference that the state of emergency taking effect Tuesday night is intended to persuade parents to have their children vaccinated to reverse the trajectory of the disease’s spread.
The county is experiencing New York state’s longest measles outbreak since the disease was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000. Health officials say the best way to stop the disease’s spread is a high vaccination rate in the community.
A federal judge this month denied a request from parents to let 44 unvaccinated children return to the Waldorf School in Rockland County.