Two people living at a migrant shelter in Brooklyn have tested positive for measles, bringing the number of cases in the city this year to 11.
Health officials have been scrambling to figure out who else has been infected at Clinton Hill Hospital, a sprawling shelter that opened last summer at 47 Hall St. and houses more than 3,000 adult migrants, City Councilwoman Crystal Hudson said. Testing has been limited to the first floor, where the two infected residents lived.
Health officials are also reviewing vaccination documentation. Anyone who is not immune must quarantine for 21 days, Hudson said.
The number of measles cases in NYC has surged this year, up from just one case in 2023, according to data from the state Department of Health. The 11 cases, through Friday, are the highest since 2019, when an outbreak caused 605 infections.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can linger in a room for up to two hours, even after the person has left. Most New Yorkers have been vaccinated against it, so the risk to the community is not high, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said Friday night.
Hudson points the finger at City Hall.
“My office has been pushing this administration for months to vaccinate the residents of this location, but it has been rejected time and time again,” she said. “Our request for a vaccination van at a resource fair organized by my office on June 1 was even rejected.”
Symptoms – typically high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and rash – usually appear within seven to 14 days of exposure to the virus.
The Clinton Hill community is in turmoil over the large-scale shelters nearby, including one on Hall Street where a migrant was stabbed in June.