Judge places hold on N.Y. county's controversial emergency measles order

A New York state judge issued a preliminary injunction late last week on a controversial order in Rockland County that banned unvaccinated children from enclosed public places. Judge Rolf Thorsen ruled in favor of several dozen parents in the county who brought a lawsuit last week challenging the ban, which was intended to curb the spread of measles. The ban went into effect nearly two weeks ago as part of a 30-day state of emergency declaration, but the judge said such emergency orders cannot exceed five days. He also said that the 167 measles cases among the county’s 330,000 people since October doesn’t constitute an "epidemic" that warrants such a declaration, and that unvaccinated children could return to schools and other public spaces.