A state judge has temporarily halted officials in Rockland County from enforcing an emergency order that barred unvaccinated children from public places for 30 days, as fears of measles outbreaks in New York and surrounding counties continue to grow.

Acting Justice Rolf Thorsen of the Rockland County Supreme Court last week granted a request for a preliminary injunction by parents who said the March 28 emergency declaration from County Executive Edwin Day had improperly prevented their children from attending school and other places of public assembly.

In his ruling, Thorsen said the incidents of measles cases did not rise to the level of an epidemic in the county and would irreparably harm both the parents and their children if it were allowed to remain in place.