Rockland Shuts Down COVID Call Center

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County's COVID-19 call center will close this week after three years in operation.

The COVID-19 call centers’ last day will be Tuesday. Afterward, residents can get COVID-19 information and make COVID-19 vaccine appointments online or by calling 845-364-2500, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announced.

The COVID-19 call center, which received 19,163 calls over the past three years, was launched in early March 2020 because the Health Department was inundated with calls about the coronavirus as cases skyrocketed from the first 2 on March 6 to 3,751 by April 2.

Rockland was one of the hardest-hit counties in New York state: Less than two years later, when the county shut down its COVID Dashboard in December, Rockland had had 113,217 cases, the eighth-highest case load in the state outside of New York City, behind Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Erie, Monroe, Onondaga and Orange counties. According to state data, as of Friday, 978 Rockland residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic started (almost all — 771 — in 2020).

"When the pandemic began, our COVID-19 Call Center became a vital lifeline to keep Rockland residents informed of our local situation," Day said. "I want to recognize county personnel who took on this difficult task at the onset of the pandemic and applaud their tireless work maintaining it up until this point."

The call center provided critical information to schools, medical providers, state agencies, and community organizations about COVID-19 guidance and vaccines. It has also provided an invaluable service to the Rockland community throughout the pandemic by helping residents to schedule vaccine appointments, providing quarantine and isolation release letters, responding to inquiries about testing sites and test results, and answering questions about public health safety protocols.

"As the number of COVID-19-related calls continues to decrease, the Health Department is able to reallocate personnel to other critical health work," Dr. Ruppert said. "To prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, we continue to encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with their vaccines, stay home when sick, wash hands often, cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and wear a mask in public areas if you feel sick and must go out."

Information about COVID-19 is available on the New York State Department of Health website, online from the CDC, and by calling the New York State Department of Health Coronavirus hotline at 1-888-364-3065 to speak with a NYSDOH expert who can answer questions, Monday – Sunday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. After hours, you may leave a voicemail that will be returned.