NEW CITY, NY — County Executive Ed Day issued a Declaration of a State of Emergency in Rockland as additional actions are taken locally to deal with the new coronavirus. The county health commissioner said exposure to what is officially called COVID-19 is possible anywhere in Rockland. As of Monday afternoon, there were 18 confirmed cases.

The state of emergency is a 30-day order, to run through April 15. Violators could incur fines of up to $2,000. Emergency School Closing Order All public and private schools that serve grades K-12 to suspend all classroom and extracurricular functions for two weeks, effective 12:00 AM, Tuesday, March 17. This order may be extended at the continued request of the Superintendents. Private schools will have an additional day to implement this Order.

All universities, colleges, and other public and private educational facilities must exclude students from those facilities before 12:00 AM, Wednesday, March 18. They are NOT required to dorms or dining halls as we understand that some students have not been able to travel home. But non-residents are prohibited from visiting student housing or dining facilities.

Facilities that are solely dedicated to daycare, preschool and pre-kindergarten are NOT exempt from this order because Gov. Andrew Cuomo's directives Monday supersede the county's order. 2. Hoarding Prevention Order

Only two "commercial units" (for example, two bottles of hand sanitizer) from the list of restricted items can be sold to a household or business per day. 3. COVID-19 Test Protective Order People who are awaiting test results to stay home and avoid interaction with the public until their test results are returned, at which time they will receive further instructions from their physicians or public health authorities. 4.Buffet and Salad Bar Protection Order

Limits buffets and salad bars to pre-packaging their food for sale. Violation of any of these Orders is considered a Class "B" Misdemeanor. Anyone found guilty of a Class "B" misdemeanor in New York faces maximum penalties of up to three months in jail or one-year of probation. In addition, a fine of up to $500 or double the amount of the defendant's gain from the commission of the crime may be imposed. In addition to the "B" Misdemeanor charge, violators of Order No. 1 and No. 3 would face fines of $2,000 per day per violation under the Rockland County Sanitary Code.

Day also made a request of local businesses, asking local stores to allow only older residents and those who have underlying health conditions to shop during the first hour they are open each day.

Rockland BOCES Chief Operating Officer Dr. Mary Jean Marsico urged families to monitor official school district websites and regular messaging channels for home instruction, food service and other support resources and information.



Because Gov. Andrew Cuomo told local and county governments to cut their in-person workforces by 50 percent, Day said Rockland residents should visit the county website frequently to stay up to date on possible changes to the availability of in person services. The county health commissioner said people should stay home as much as they can, whether or not they feel sick.