Rockland County officials announced Friday that there have been 47 new cases of COVID-19 discovered in the last 24 hours.

County Executive Ed Day says more than 70% of the uptick in cases is coming from Spring Valley and Monsey.

"In this case it's a unique situation," says Day. "It has nothing to do with the Phase 1-4 reopenings. This is something that really goes back to the way a religious group practices. It's communal in nature and now it's a matter of getting them to understand that and getting all these folks to understand what they need to do to minimize the spread."

The county is working with the town of Ramapo to ensure everyone understands the severity.

"They're engaged in a reinvigorated education campaign," says Day. "They're trying to get across to people that they need to do basic things. Wear a mask, obviously, social distance, and wash your hands. We are engaged with the town of Ramapo to try and get people to understand this is serious."

Some Hasidic leaders, however, say the rise in their communities has nothing to do with the lack of attention to COVID protocols.

"There is more testing in recent weeks because of the holiday," says Yossi Gestetner. "Some people are concerned, so they go and test. And furthermore, who is the person that would go test? Someone who thinks they have symptoms, right? That person would be more likely to go get tests, so this might also increase the infection rate."

News 12 reached out to the Ramapo Police Department about how it is enforcing COVID protocols, but no one was available for comment.