Rockland County Hot Spot Restrictions Go Into Effect At Midnight

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Restrictions will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday in the red and yellow zones at the core of Rockland County's coronavirus outbreak.

The county's cases are still rising rapidly. On Wednesday, there were 1,500 active cases, up from 1,072 on Friday and a huge increase from 272 on Sept. 16. There are 22 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.

County officials said they are still awaiting details from state officials on what enforcement in the different zones will entail.

Meanwhile, four inspectors from the Rockland County Department of Health have been trained and are ready to participate in the enforcement task force led by the New York State Police.

Plus, Rockland County is using the reverse 911 system to notify residents within these zones and countywide that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has put additional restrictions in place, officials said. On Thursday, 29,000 landlines within the zones will receive a phone call with this message:

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Governor Cuomo has placed portions of Rockland County under additional restrictions. Businesses, Schools, Houses of Worship and Gatherings must operate under these restrictions beginning 12:01 AM, Friday, October 9th. For specific details about what areas are affected and which activities are limited please visit RocklandGov.com

That message will then be sent to 198,500 additional landlines countywide.

Officials are also using the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, which is FEMA's national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency information to the public through mobile phones using wireless emergency alerts. The following message was sent to cell phones within the red and yellow zones:

Your area is under additional COVID restrictions. Visit RocklandGov.com for details.

"We are awaiting further details from the Governor’s Office related to the New York State Police Task Force which will oversee enforcement of the restrictions in these zones," County Executive Ed Day said.

He reminded residents that government can only do so much to stop the spread of the virus.

"Each of us bears personal responsibility for our actions and a civic duty to do what is right, not only for ourselves but for our entire community," Day said. "Please maintain social distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay home if you are sick. If we all take these preventative actions and abide by the Governor’s restrictions in these Zones, we will get through this."

The red zone includes neighborhoods where the highest density of cases have been confirmed. The new rules include closing all schools, shuting down all but essential businesses, allowing only takeout from restaurants and limiting houses of worship to a maximum of 10 people. Mass gatherings are prohibited.

The outer buffer is the yellow zone. There, houses of worship are limited to 50 percent capacity and mass gatherings are limited to a maximum of 25 people. Also, schools in that zone must do weekly coronavirus testing.

The restrictions are in effect for 14 days.

There are seven ZIP codes in the county with coronavirus cases in the double digits, but by far the neighborhoods with the most cases are in the state's red zone.

SEE ALSO: State Establishes Cluster Zone In Orange Where Virus Is Spiking