Rockland County has declared a countywide state of emergency Tuesday relating to the ongoing measles outbreak.

The measure goes into effect at 12 a.m. March 27.

The announcement comes nearly six months after the first measles case was reported in the county. As of Tuesday, there are 153 confirmed cases, with 84 percent of the people infected under the age of 18.

Under the emergency, anyone who is under 18 years of age and unvaccinated against the measles will be barred from public places until the declaration expires in 30 days or until they have received the MMR vaccination.

Minors who are unable to be vaccinated due to documented and confirmed medical reasons are exempt from this.

"We owe this to the residence of this great county so we never ever have to go through this again. This is an opportunity for everyone in their community to do the right thing," said Day.

Day says parents will be held accountable if they are found to be in violation of the state of emergency. They could be subject to a $500 fine or even jail time.

Rockland County is experiencing the largest outbreak of measles in the United States since 2000, which was when measles was officially declared eradicated by CDC.