Orange County is reporting a major drop in COVID-19 cases for the first time in months.

It comes just days after the first round of mandates for health care workers went into effect - with a decrease as much as 25% from last week.

"Not one municipality has over 100, and a week ago we had about four or five that were over 100," says County Executive Steve Neuhaus.

Neuhaus says despite the controversy and pushback, the mandates, at least in Orange County, appear to be contributing to the numbers going down - in an area that previously had some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state.

At Valley View Nursing Home in Goshen, for instance, News 12 is told 400 workers weren't vaccinated and now that number is down to 12.

Orange County has a total of 800 active cases and 50 hospitalizations.

Four deaths were reported on Wednesday.

While officials are cautiously optimistic, they say people should still take precautions, especially ahead of the holidays.