Rockland County Executive Issues State Of Emergency UPDATE

NEW CITY, NY — County Executive Ed Day issued a Declaration of a State of Emergency in Rockland as additional actions are taken locally to deal with the new coronavirus. The county health commissioner said exposure to what is officially called COVID-19 is possible anywhere in Rockland. As of Monday afternoon, there were 18 confirmed cases.

The state of emergency is a 30-day order, to run through April 15. Violators could incur fines of up to $2,000.

1. Emergency School Closing Order

• All public and private schools that serve grades K-12 to suspend all classroom and extracurricular functions for two weeks, effective 12:00 AM, Tuesday, March 17. This order may be extended at the continued request of the Superintendents. Private schools will have an additional day to implement this Order.
• All universities, colleges, and other public and private educational facilities must exclude students from those facilities before 12:00 AM, Wednesday, March 18. They are NOT required to dorms or dining halls as we understand that some students have not been able to travel home. But non-residents are prohibited from visiting student housing or dining facilities.
• Facilities that are solely dedicated to daycare, preschool and pre-kindergarten are NOT exempt from this order because Gov. Andrew Cuomo's directives Monday supersede the county's order.

2. Hoarding Prevention Order

• Only two “commercial units” (for example, two bottles of hand sanitizer) from the list of restricted items can be sold to a household or business per day.

3. COVID-19 Test Protective Order

• People who are awaiting test results to stay home and avoid interaction with the public until their test results are returned, at which time they will receive further instructions from their physicians or public health authorities.

4.Buffet and Salad Bar Protection Order

• Limits buffets and salad bars to pre-packaging their food for sale.

Violation of any of these Orders is considered a Class “B” Misdemeanor. Anyone found guilty of a Class “B” misdemeanor in New York faces maximum penalties of up to three months in jail or one-year of probation. In addition, a fine of up to $500 or double the amount of the defendant’s gain from the commission of the crime may be imposed.

In addition to the “B” Misdemeanor charge, violators of Order No. 1 and No. 3 would face fines of $2,000 per day per violation under the Rockland County Sanitary Code.

Day also made a request of local businesses, asking local stores to allow only older residents and those who have underlying health conditions to shop during the first hour they are open each day.

Rockland BOCES Chief Operating Officer Dr. Mary Jean Marsico urged families to monitor official school district websites and regular messaging channels for home instruction, food service and other support resources and information.

Because Gov. Andrew Cuomo told local and county governments to cut their in-person workforces by 50 percent, Day said Rockland residents should visit the county website frequently to stay up to date on possible changes to the availability of in person services.

The county health commissioner said people should stay home as much as they can, whether or not they feel sick.

"We are seeing community spread of this disease which means that you should prepare for possible exposure wherever you are," Dr. Patricia Ruppert said.

Day said he was imposing austerity measures on the county government, including curtailing all discretionary purchases. "Oour economy is taking a hit, it would be reckless of us not to take action to prepare for downturn in revenue," he said, but emphasized that essential services will be delivered.

Day said county and school officials had been working through the weekend to ensure everything was being done properly.

“We have been in close contact with our school Superintendents, Rockland BOCES and other local officials as we finalize the plans that will protect our children, our families and our neighbors. I once again ask our residents to stay calm and remember to look out for your friends and neighbors as we navigate this situation with COVID-19.”

His announcement is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. Monday in New City.

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Rockland became the site of the second fatality in New York due to the virus officially known as COVID-19. A 64-year-old who had died in Suffern was tested posthumously and found to have been infected. He also had underlying medical conditions, the Medical Examiner announced over the weekend.

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