A state of emergency was declared in Rockland County, New York on Mar. 26 in
response to the extreme outbreak of measles in the county. An executive order has
pulled around 6,000 unvaccinated children from school and is barring them from
entering public.
The county executive, Ed Day, issued the executive order after the number of children with measles increased in the past few months. Rockland County has a population of around 300,000 people and has experienced 153 measles cases since October. Day is hoping the executive order decreases the spread of the disease.
“We must not allow this outbreak to continue indefinitely or worsen again,” Mr. Day said. “We will not sit idly by while children in our community are at risk.”
Health officials have yet to find the source of the measles outbreak, but they have found traces of it in stores, supermarkets, and shopping centers. Although some citizens of Rockland County fear the ban infringes on civil liberties, health officials have a positive attitude towards the ban.
Jason L. Schwartz, a professor of health policy and the history of medicine at the Yale School of Public Health, said, “I think this is a measure that would highlight the stakes of measles and that would put a stop to these outbreaks.” The ban prohibits unvaccinated minors from entering public restaurants, schools, shopping centers and places of worship.
The ban was put in place Tuesday at midnight and will expire in 30 days. Public and health officials are hoping it is long enough to contain the outbreak and encourage parents to vaccinate their children.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/nyregion/measles-outbreak-rockland-county.html
The county executive, Ed Day, issued the executive order after the number of children with measles increased in the past few months. Rockland County has a population of around 300,000 people and has experienced 153 measles cases since October. Day is hoping the executive order decreases the spread of the disease.
“We must not allow this outbreak to continue indefinitely or worsen again,” Mr. Day said. “We will not sit idly by while children in our community are at risk.”
Health officials have yet to find the source of the measles outbreak, but they have found traces of it in stores, supermarkets, and shopping centers. Although some citizens of Rockland County fear the ban infringes on civil liberties, health officials have a positive attitude towards the ban.
Jason L. Schwartz, a professor of health policy and the history of medicine at the Yale School of Public Health, said, “I think this is a measure that would highlight the stakes of measles and that would put a stop to these outbreaks.” The ban prohibits unvaccinated minors from entering public restaurants, schools, shopping centers and places of worship.
The ban was put in place Tuesday at midnight and will expire in 30 days. Public and health officials are hoping it is long enough to contain the outbreak and encourage parents to vaccinate their children.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/nyregion/measles-outbreak-rockland-county.html
Comments
Post a Comment