Active Coronavirus Cases Jump In Rockland

Lanning Taliaferro
Updated ·2 min read

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — As the number of active coronavirus cases rises in Rockland and the infection rate hits 3 percent, county officials have reached out to leaders in the towns and villages where the most people have been asked to quarantine.

The active case map shows confirmed positive test results within the last two weeks that have been reported to the Rockland County Department of Health. The number of active cases has risen sharply, from 272 on Monday to 295 on Wednesday.

Most of the active cases are in Spring Valley and Monsey, each with more than double the number of cases in any other Rockland community. The 10 communities with the most active cases are:

  • 80 - Spring Valley

  • 79 - Monsey

  • 27 - Suffern

  • 25 - Nanuet

  • 19 - New City

  • 10 - Pomona

  • 8 - Pearl River

  • 8 - Stony Point

  • 6 - West Nyack

  • 5 - Blauvelt

On Wednesday, County Executive Ed Day and Health Commissioner Patricia Ruppert talked to leaders from the hardest-hit communities to discuss prevention.

"We must not allow a repeat of what this County went through earlier in the year," Day said in a statement.

At the height of the outbreak, in March, April and May, 646 Rockland residents died of COVID-19. The death toll now stands at 675.

"Earlier today Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Ruppert and I were on a conference call with municipal and community leaders from these areas to discuss prevention efforts we can all take to protect Rockland residents," Day said. "We were pleased to hear of many efforts that were already underway and pledged to continue to work together to stop the further spread of this disease."

Day said the good news was that hospitalizations continue to be low. There are currently six people hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and two hospital patients are being tested to see if their illness is due to the coronavirus.

However, Rockland's positivity rate is above average for the Hudson Valley region. According to its Early Warning Dashboard, the positivity rate was 2.66 percent as of Tuesday. According to state data, it was 3 percent as of Wednesday.

Rockland's map shows that the positivity rate has been climbing steadily in the past month.

The positivity rate for the Hudson region was 1.4 percent Wednesday, according to the state's dashboards. New York State's coronavirus infection rate remained below 1 percent.

The positivity rate by county, as of Wednesday:

  • Dutchess: 2.2 percent

  • Orange: 2.1 percent

  • Putnam: 0.5 percent

  • Rockland: 3 percent

  • Ulster: 0.3 percent

  • Westchester: 0.8 percent

If you have tested positive for the coronavirus, whether or not you have symptoms, you must stay in your home and away from other people (in public and your household) for at least 10 days after the date you were tested, by executive order.

Read the county's instructions for quarantine and isolation here.

This article originally appeared on the New City Patch