UPDATED: 3/27/19 9:57 AM ET
People unvaccinated under the ages of 18 will be banned from all public places in Rockland County, New York, which will be taken into effect at midnight, Wednesday night, according to director of strategic communications, John Lyon.
Day announced this new order earlier this week on Tuesday.
The declaration is considered an effort to contain the outbreaks of measles that started in October, with a total of 153 reported cases reported in the county.
The outbreak arose when an unvaccinated resident of the county became infected during their visit in Israel, then returning to the city, contagious with the disease. Assumingly, the outbreak mostly affected Jewish neighborhoods.
The City of New York has reported a total of 214 cases as of Wednesday from the outbreak as well as in Orthodox Jewish communities, according to the city department of health.
Day said the outbreak would not continue to go on. “This is a public health crisis, and it is time to sound the alarm, to ensure that everyone takes proper action to protect themselves and their neighbors; for the health and safety of all of us in Rockland,” he stated in a news release.
Public places include churches, synagogues, restaurants, schools, stores, and public transportation. “Public places are defined as: a place where more than 10 persons are intended to congregate,” the news release says.
Any Children who are up-to-date with their vaccine schedule but are not fully vaccinated against measles because of their age are exempt from this order.
However, this order will not apply to anyone older than 18 because “we did not want to prevent anyone from going to work,” but, it’s encouraged that unvaccinated adults get vaccinated.
As of Monday, there has been a total of 314 cases of measles nationwide this year by the CDC. This number also includes all incidents reported by the state’s health departments as of Thursday, but not including cases reported since then.