RAMAPO, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Town of Ramapo officials are urging more people to take precautions against coronavirus after two town ZIP codes were listed in New York’s COVID clusters.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced Spring Valley (10977) had the highest percentage of positive COVID cases in the state with 30% of tests detecting the virus. Monsey (10952) came in with the second highest percentage at 25%.
Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, on Wednesday, said he is now taking action to get the word out about the virus in both communities.
“I went out yesterday to a number of the larger local stores, with the goal of speaking to the management and basically saying, ‘Okay this is it, if they’re not in compliance immediately, we're going to have to take enforcement actions.’ And I was actually pleased to see that each of the stores I went to yesterday, there was full compliance,” he explained.
Specht says he personally visited a number of businesses that cater to the Orthodox Jewish community to make sure that COVID precautions are being practiced.
“They had employees making sure people wore masks as they entered the store. They had people notifying customers to put their mask on and people were cooperating. It as a very good thing to see,” Specht said.
He says people grew too comfortable, which may have contributed to the rise in cases. However, they are working on warning people about the continued risks.
“We wanna get people back in the mindset that they had in April,” he explains.
As they try to reduce the COVID uptick, the supervisor says by the end of the week they will have four rapid test sites in Ramapo.
Specht also warned that if people and businesses do not remain in compliance with the guidelines, they could face hefty fines.