All of lohud's coverage of coronavirus is being provided free to our readers. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to lohud and The Journal News at offers.lohud.com.

Two Rockland residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and are under isolation in their homes, county officials said Friday.

The two people — an adult man and woman —reported that they learned of their potential exposure at a New Rochelle synagogue, were in quarantine, then felt ill and went to a local hospital in Rockland.

The two residents had no underlying conditions and "are doing very well," Rockland County Commissioner of Health, Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said. The length of their isolation will depend on their symptoms.

The Rockland Department of Health is conducting investigations to determine any further exposure.

The county is monitoring 10 other people who under voluntary 14-day quarantine, she said. They are asymptomatic and heath department staff checks on them daily.

"This is not a surprise, this is what we've expected for a while now," Ruppert said of the first Rockland cases. "We will have more cases, I'm certain."

The two infected people worked at a bat mitzvah at Young Israel New Rochelle that was attended by a 50-year-old lawyer who was later found to have coronavirus. The New Rochelle man was one of the first in New York to be found with the virus and remains in a New York City hospital. His exposure has been linked to more than two-dozen cases of COVID-19 since then, with 1,000 people in quarantine.

The Health Department has not specified which of Rockland's two hospitals tended to the patients. But Ruppert reminded people to call ahead if they feel ill before they head to a hospital or health-care provider.

Ruppert said the two did not have symptoms when they were first in quarantine. They then developed symptoms, were tested and are now in isolation. She and Rockland County Executive Ed Day declined to give further information about the individuals, citing medical privacy laws.

Several dozen coronavirus tests have been given in Rockland, which are processed in the state's Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany with a one-day turnaround for results.

The county health department's investigators evaluate each potential case to determine where the person has been and their level level of exposure.

Ruppert and Day provided an update on the local cases Friday afternoon at the county's health complex in Pomona.

"We are ready," Day said, citing the county's experience during last year's measles outbreak that saw 312 cases in Rockland. "We have met and defeated a similar challenge before, last year with the measles, and we will do so again."

Ruppert said the best prevention is simple and straightforward: "Wash your hands." She cited a study that showed 31% of men and 65% of women do not wash their hands after their using a bathroom.

She again stressed the importance of getting a flu shot for protection and to minimize confusion with a diagnosis from another respiratory illness such as coronavirus.

As of Friday, there were 44 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York state. At least five of the 44 New Yorkers with coronavirus are hospitalized, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Day said the county participates in daily state and federal briefings on the virus.

CORONAVIRUS: Concern over New Rochelle case stretches to Washington D.C.

CORONAVIRUS: New Rochelle rabbi, White Plains doctor among coronavirus cases

CORONVIRUS: New York state cases increase to 44; first Rockland cases

No Rockland schools have closed as a result of the virus. Several schools in Westchester, including two school districts — Hastings-on-Hudson and Mount Vernon — have had closures, either because of students and/or parents who were under quarantine for possible exposure to the virus, or so staff could disinfect their buildings.

John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Port Chester dismissed its 800 students Friday after learning that family members of two students may have been in close proximity to someone with the virus. The students had shown no symptoms.

Tappan Zee High School remained open even as a staff member is under self-quarantine. The staff member's children attend one of the schools in Westchester that was closed as a precaution.

Rockland County had already canceled its annual Youth Fest, scheduled for this Sunday, which draws hundreds of families to RCC’s Fieldhouse and showcases the region’s nonprofits.

Day said he had no issue with other large gatherings, a comment he made while he was at the Construction Career Day that drew hundreds of high schoolers to the Fieldhouse on Friday.

But the Youth Fest draws representatives from county departments, first responders like firefighters and EMTs and hospital personnel who share information with children and families. One ill person could spread coronavirus among key safety personnel, Day said.

"We could have the quarantine of EMTs and all the people critical to operations of the county," Day said. “It would be an unbelievable blow to the entire county.”

Twitter: @Bee_bob