WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A state of emergency has been declared in the Rockland county, on the Hudson river north of New York City, after it was hit by a measles outbreak.
Under an order by County Executive Ed Day, anyone who is under 18 years of age and not vaccinated against the measles will be barred from public places for 30 days or until they receive the MMR vaccination.
The County administration has warned that violating the order will be punishable by a fine of $500 and up to six months in prison. This is in an effort to prevent the once-eliminated disease from spreading.
153 confirmed cases of measles have been reported in Rockland County until Tuesday. Most of the infected are below the age of 19.
Vaccination rates have dropped steadily in many places as the campaign is met with resistance from victims or potential communities.
Many parents are reportedly objecting for philosophical or religious reasons, or because they believe misleading information that vaccines cause autism in children.
'We must not allow this outbreak to continue indefinitely. We will not sit idly by while children in our community are at risk,' County Executive Day said in a news conference.
'This is a public health crisis, and it is time to sound the alarm, to ensure that everyone takes proper action to protect themselves and their neighbors; for the health and safety of all of us in Rockland,' he added.
Rockland is the most infected region in the United States. So far a total of 314 cases of measles have been confirmed in 15 states.
The states that have reported cases to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
CDC has said that these outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel and Ukraine, where large measles outbreaks are occurring.
The federal health agency has advised US citizens to make sure that they are vaccinated against measles before traveling abroad.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
