Unvaccinated people under age 18 are banned from public places in Rockland County, New York, as of midnight Wednesday, according to John Lyon, director of strategic communications for County Executive Ed Day.
Day announced the order Tuesday.
The declaration is an effort to contain an outbreak of measles that began in October; 153 cases have been confirmed in the county.
“We’re not punishing the people who are doing the right thing already and following the rules. We just want to encourage everyone to do the right thing so we can stop this outbreak,” Lyon said. The step is “extremely unusual. [We] don’t believe it’s been done anywhere in the country before.”
