62 Tested Positive Tuesday In Rockland For Coronavirus: NY

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — With 62 people testing positive for coronavirus in Rockland County Tuesday, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said he supports the governor's plan to withhold state funding if the community doesn't follow the public health law imposed Friday to fight rising coronavirus infection rates in downstate hot spots.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the sanctions during a coronavirus briefing Wednesday morning.

Rockland's cluster is in the Ultra-Orthodox communities of Spring Valley and Monsey. Its core has been deemed one of the state's six coronavirus red zones, and a 14-day rule tightening restrictions on gatherings was imposed there last week.

The New York State Department of Health is sending a letter warning Ramapo, Spring Valley, Orange County, Rockland County and New York City that they will lose state funding if they fail to enforce those limits.

"I spoke with the Governor by phone last night, and we both understand where the true lack of enforcement and support of the Governor’s Orders is occurring," Day said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "The Town of Ramapo and Village of Spring Valley have outright refused to step up and protect their residents and the residents of our County."

Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht told Patch, "The Town of Ramapo is ready, willing, and able to have Town employees assist with the Governor’s enforcement efforts. We remain committed to combating Covid-19 and will continue doing everything we can to keep the people of Ramapo healthy and safe. Collaboration is critical as we contend with a public health crisis, and we therefore look forward to working together with our partners in government for the betterment of our residents’ well-being."

Patch reached out to the Spring Valley mayor for comment but had not heard back by the time this article was published.

Cuomo also said state health officials will send an additional letter warning public and private schools in cluster zones that they will lose state funding if they do not comply with state requirements on closure and testing.

"We know that public and private schools in the red zones are supposed to be closed. We know that there were violations where yeshivas were operating. We know there were violations where religious gatherings were happening that exceeded the guidelines. This is especially a problem in Brooklyn and Orange and Rockland Counties," Cuomo said. "This is a last and final warning."

Cuomo said he understood that politicians were reluctant to enforce rules unwelcome in Ultra-Orthodox communities (despite spiking coronavirus cases) because they wield substantial political clout.

In "red zone" areas, the positivity rate for test results reported yesterday was 6.29 percent — up from the 4.13 percent the day before. The red zones are home to 2.8 percent of the state's population, yet had 15.6 percent of all positive cases reported yesterday, Cuomo said.

Day said county officials fully support the governor’s New York State Police Enforcement Task Force.

"Today, four staff members from the Rockland County Department of Health have partnered with NYS personnel and are undertaking patrol and enforcement actions within the Red and Yellow Cluster Zones. We have identified ten additional County personnel to join these efforts in the coming days, and I thank them for rising to this challenge," he said. "We are committed to the mission of protecting the people of Rockland but increasing our staffing contribution to fill the gaps left by the Town of Ramapo and Village of Spring Valley that flat out refuse to enforce the Governor’s Executive Orders is not our preferred course of action. Each staff member we assign from within County Government will have a direct impact on the services we provide for all of our residents in each and every town."

Day said he welcomed the notifications being sent from the state to every school and government entity in the clusters.

"Additionally, I thank the Governor’s staff for confirming that he and they are not concerned with the actions taken and support provided by Rockland County Government," Day said. "It is also clearly understood that County Government does not have the ability to order these other municipalities or their police departments to enforce the Governor’s orders."

Meanwhile, 62 people tested positive in Rockland Tuesday, according to the state's dashboard.

That number is substantially lower than Oct. 1, when the state reported 213 people with positive test results.

However, 26 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 22 on Thursday. There are 1,421 active cases in the county, up from 272 on Sept. 16.

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus Red Zone Restraining Order Denied