Executive Day Ends State of Emergency

After a year and a half of precaution, Rockland is ready to mark an official end to the worst of the pandemic. On Friday, County Executive Ed Day announced that he will not renew the local State of Emergency, which was declared on March 16, 2020, in Rockland County due to COVID-19. The State of Emergency had been renewed every 30 days as required under New York State Executive Law Section 24 but will now expire on Saturday, June 12, 2021.

Active cases of COVID-19 have steadily decreased since mid-March of this year; there are currently 100 active cases in Rockland County with 6 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID . The current COVID-19 case 7-day average is 7 new cases per day.

“With all of Rockland’s numbers steadily decreasing, there is no need for a continued local State of Emergency. Last March we acted to protect the health and safety of our friends and neighbors and while these past 15 months have been difficult, we have overcome so much. I have witnessed so many examples of neighbors coming together, regardless of age, gender, race, or religion, to support each other during the pandemic and I hope to see that continue as we continue taking steps towards normalcy. Emergency Orders and powers are intended to be temporary; we do not live in an autocracy. It is now time to return to the regular governance of our participatory democracy and I urge the Governor to take the same action on the state level as an emergency no longer exists,” said Executive Day.

According to New York State vaccination data, 159,557 people in Rockland have received at least one vaccine dose which equates to 49% of Rockland’s total population.

“We have made great progress in our vaccination efforts including helping over 13,000 seniors obtain a vaccine appointment early on in this process. Our Department of Health has hosted pop-up vaccine clinics all around Rockland at houses of worship and community organizations as have other local providers. They have already or will soon visit some of our larger businesses to vaccinate their employees and increase the ease of access and availability of the vaccine. We are doing everything we can to keep taking these positive steps while protecting residents,” said County Executive Day.

To schedule an appointment for a 1^st dose COVID-19 vaccine from any Rockland County Department of Health Clinic visit: http://rcklnd.us/covid19. To search for additional COVID-19 vaccination opportunities nearby visit: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.