NYC declares emergency over measles outbreak

NEW YORK -- A woman pushes a stroller near the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School in the South Williamsburg neighborhood, April 9, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York City has ordered all yeshivas in a heavily Orthodox Jewish section of Brooklyn to exclude from classes all students who aren't vaccinated against measles or face fines or possible closure.

A woman pushes a stroller near the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School in the South Williamsburg neighborhood, April 9, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York City has ordered all yeshivas in a heavily Orthodox Jewish section of Brooklyn to exclude from classes all students who aren't vaccinated against measles or face fines or possible closure.

A woman pushes a stroller near the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School in the South Williamsburg neighborhood, April 9, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York City has ordered all yeshivas in a heavily Orthodox Jewish section of Brooklyn to exclude from classes all students who aren't vaccinated against measles or face fines or possible closure.

New York City issued a public health emergency on Tuesday over an ongoing measles outbreak in the city's borough of Brooklyn, requiring vaccinations for people in the area who may have been exposed to the virus.

According to city officials, at least 285 measles cases have been confirmed since last September, with many arising in the past two months, in a troubling surge as compared to just two cases in the city for all of 2017.

The emergency covers four postal codes in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section, where the bulk of measles cases have been concentrated within an Orthodox Jewish religious community.

Under the declaration, unvaccinated adults and children at least six months old who live, work, or attend school in the affected area are required to receive the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.

The city's health department will also check the vaccination records of people in contact with infected patients. Those who are unvaccinated and do not heed the order could face a fine of $1,000.

The move comes after the department recently ordered religious schools and day care programs in the affected area to exclude unvaccinated children, under the threat of possible closure.

Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190410/p2g/00m/0in/016000c