Rockland County Enters Phase 3 Tuesday

NEW CITY, NY — With the Rockland County, as well as the Mid-Hudson Region, entering Phase 3 of the NY Forward Reopening plan Tuesday, County Executive Ed Day talked about what new phase will entail. Phase 3 includes the lifting of the requirement for governments in the state to operate with a limit of 50 percent of staff on site.

Also restaurants can resume indoor seating at up to 50 percent of their capacity, and spas, nail salons and massage parlors can reopen.

“Safety First, People Always. This is the motto that has guided our actions since the first days of the pandemic,” Day said.

“Within your county government we have implemented change on a massive scale," he said. "We have moved desks, installed barriers, posted more signage than I have ever seen, and overall, adapted at a speed previously unknown in government.”

On March 16, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order which limited local governments in New York to operating with 50 percent of personnel on site.

Day said that practically overnight the county developed and implemented plans so that many of its employees would be able to work from home and continue providing residents with critical services.

"As we enter Phase 3 tomorrow, we will be welcoming back many of those employees who have been working from home," he said. "Each of our county departments has developed a plan to protect the health and safety of their team members and of any residents that utilize our in-person services. Along with an overall plan to protect anyone entering one of our buildings.”

The Rockland Forward plan, which is based on guidance from the CDC and New York State and Rockland County Departments of Health, is available here.

Key Points:

• Face coverings are required to enter county buildings.
• Elevators and vehicles are limited to 50 percent occupancy.
• Additional hand hygiene stations have been installed.
• Enhanced cleaning procedures.
• New building entry screening procedure using thermal scanners.

Day said the precautions put in place in county office and at other businesses and industries which are reopening are designed to keep the public safe.

The strengthened contact tracing program stands ready to investigate any new cases and contact the people and places which may have been exposed so that they can take proactive steps to protect themselves and others, he said.

"These steps include precautionary or mandatory quarantine depending on your level of contact with an infected person,” Day said.

He said what everyone experienced these past few months was both unexpected and unprecedented.

"We have suffered illness; we have suffered loss; we have suffered worry and anxiety at a level many of us had never previously known," Day said. "But we have come so far. We are making progress and we will continue to do so.

The county executive said everyone has a role to play, including following social distancing, wearing a face covering if you are near other and can't maintain proper distance and using hand sanitizer and washing your hands with soap and water.

“These basic steps are what will allow us to continue reopening with that Safety First, People Always motto," Day said. "Rockland County has been and remains ‘open for business,’ the business of serving our community.”

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