What to Know
- Officials say there have been 83 confirmed measles cases in Rockland County and nearly a dozen other cases are being investigated
- Measles is highly contagious and can stay in the air for up to two hours after a person has left the room
- Rockland County is not the only local area dealing with a measles outbreak, as Brooklyn has faced confirmed measles cases in recent weeks
Health officials are warning of new locations where shoppers may have been exposed to measles in New York's Rockland County, which has seen nearly 100 confirmed cases of the virus amid an outbreak that has yet to be contained.
Officials say the latest exposures were at Best Buy at the Palisades Center between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, Jalapa Express in Spring Valley between 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 24 and Compare Supermarket in Spring Valley between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 22.
Those times reflect when the infected person was inside the location and the two-hour period after he or she left, officials said. The person who was in the Best Buy was only in that store, not anywhere else in the mall.
The current outbreak stands at 83 confirmed cases, with eight more under investigation. The outbreak has gotten so bad the county has asked parents not to send their children to school if they are unvaccinated.
Measles is highly contagious. Young children, the immunocompromised, and non-immune pregnant women are at highest risk for severe complications. Measles is transmitted by airborne particles, droplets, and direct contact with the respiratory secretions of an infected person.
Measles typically presents in adults and children as an acute viral illness characterized by fever and generalized rash. The rash usually starts on the face, proceeds down the body, and may include the palms and soles. The rash lasts several days. Infected individuals are contagious from four days before rash onset through the fourth day after rash appearance.
Rockland officials encourage everyone to be up-to-date with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine to help protect them in case of any future exposure to measles in Rockland.
To prevent the spread of illness, the Rockland County Health Department advises anyone who may have measles to contact their health care provider, local clinic, or local emergency department before going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.
Rockland County is not the only local area dealing with a measles outbreak, as Brooklyn has faced confirmed measles cases in recent weeks as well.
