ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top members of his administration said Saturday they were unaware of Rockland County's request for a coronavirus "containment area," which local officials made as the virus continues its rapid spread through New York City and its suburbs.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day on Thursday publicly called for a containment zone and construction of a temporary hospital in eastern Rockland County, noting the Spring Valley and Monsey areas had seen sharp increases in confirmed cases.

As of Saturday morning, Rockland — with a population of 329,000 — had 4,872 positive COVID-19 cases and 50 deaths, according to state data.

During his daily coronavirus briefing Saturday, Cuomo and state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said they were unaware of such a request from Rockland officials.

"Nobody's asked me," Cuomo said.

Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's top aide, vowed to follow up. She noted, however, that the containment area measures implemented in New Rochelle early on during the coronavirus outbreak — school closures, a ban on public gatherings — now apply statewide.

"We'll certainly reach out to the people in Rockland County after this to find out what more they want us to do," DeRosa said. "Of course, if there's more measures, we're all ears at all times. But what we did in New Rochelle, we've now done statewide."

More:The containment area in New Rochelle has ended. How the city will move forward

Cuomo has previously said the state's goal is to create a temporary hospital in New York City and nearby counties, including Rockland.

One is already slated for the Westchester County Center in White Plains, while a 2,500-bed facility at the Javits Center in Manhattan opened this week.

On Saturday, Day's office provided a letter the Republican executive sent to Cuomo and top aides Thursday formalizing his request.

Day's letter laid out the exact spot where he wanted a Rockland containment area and asked Cuomo to update his executive orders to provide law enforcement greater authority to enforce social distancing requirements.

Following Cuomo's briefing, Day issued a statement asking "how in God's name" were Cuomo and his staff unaware of his request.

"Major news outlets, heavy social media coverage, along with a load of calls and emails to your office in support of this request, not to mention one of your staffers who actually saw it live," Day said in a statement.

"These responses strain credibility, and that is putting it mildly."

Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's senior adviser and spokesman, called Day's response "nonsensical."

He noted the current NYS on PAUSE order, which applies statewide, actually goes further than the restrictions placed on New Rochelle in early March, shutting all in-person operations at nonessential businesses and prohibiting sit-down service at restaurants and bars.

"We're happy to discuss enhanced outreach and education efforts with all stakeholders, but this is no time for petty, meaningless political attacks," Azzopardi said.

In a tweet Saturday, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, D-New City, Rockland County, said he has been in "regular contact" with Cuomo's staff.

"Rockland’s situation is worsening," he wrote. "County of 300,000+ now has highest per capita cases in the US. Need new coordinated plan for enforcement & supplies & field hospital ASAP."

The area Day wants included in a containment zone includes areas of the town of Ramapo that are heavily populated by the Orthodox Jewish community.

On Thursday, he singled out people who attended a funeral for Josef Neumann, a victim of an anti-Semitic machete attack during Hanukkah last year, in violation of social distancing mandates.

Yossi Gestetner, a founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, said Rockland officials were "scapegoating" the community.

“We have elected officials and social media people scapegoating the entire Orthodox community,” Gestetner said Thursday. “They take violations from a few people and spread it over the entire community.”

Includes reporting by The Journal News.

Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

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