NYC declares public health emergency amid measles outbreak

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City declared a public health emergency Tuesday over a measles outbreak centred in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and ordered mandatory vaccinations in the neighbourhood.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the unusual order amid what he said was a measles crisis in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg section, where more than 250 people have gotten measles since September.

Officials blamed the outbreak on “anti-vaxxers” spreading false information.

The order applies to anyone living, working or going to school in four ZIP codes in the neighbourhood and requires all unvaccinated people at risk of exposure to the virus to get the vaccine, including children over 6 months old.

The city can’t legally physically force someone to get a vaccination, but officials said people who ignore the order could be fined $1,000.

The city said it would help everyone covered by the order get the vaccine if they can’t get it quickly through their regular medical provider.

“If people will simply cooperate quickly, nobody will have to pay a fine,” de Blasio said.

Officials say 285 measles cases have been confirmed in New York City since the beginning of the outbreak, the largest in the city since 1991.

New York City accounted for about two-thirds of all U.S. measles cases reported last week.

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