A measles emergency was proclaimed in Rockland County, New York, where children not vaccinated against the disease were banned from public places, and presented with a fine or six months in prison.
The measure was announced by the county administrator, Ed Day, and covers any place where more than ten people are gathered: schools, restaurants, shops, places of worship and even transportation vehicles.

“These numbers say a lot about the reasons why the epidemic continues,” said the county administrator. The most affected areas are those with a strong ultra-orthodox Jewish population, where the people who refuse to be vaccinated are numerous and according to the New York Times have links with the Orthodox communities of Brooklyn, where the disease is equally widespread. Numerous vaccines are theoretically mandatory in the United States to attend school, but 47 out of 50 states, including the one in New York, allow them to be exempted, even for “religious” reasons.