Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman ordered all public, private and charter schools serving students in the Village of Kiryas Joel and Town of Palm Tree to close effective immediately.
The health commissioner cited a three day COVID-19 positivity rate of 27.6%, the highest rate in Orange County.
The order by the commissioner requires the schools to be closed for at least two weeks, "but cannot resume operations without clearance to resume from the Orange County Department of Health."
Also on Tuesday, Governor Cuomo plans to meet with Orthodox Jewish leaders to discuss large-scale events that are drawing a lot of scrutiny in hot spot areas.
The governor also made clear that the rules apply to people of all faiths.
He also said indiscriminately closing businesses based on zip codes is not a good idea, and that the state will come up with its own plan.
Governor Cuomo announces school closures in 9 NYC hot spot ZIP codes
RELATED | 12 NYC neighborhoods with COVID-19 positivity rates above 3%
RELATED: Stay informed with ABC7's NYC COVID-19 positivity rate tracker
WATCH: Eyewitness to a Pandemic
Eyewitness to a Pandemic: Episode 6 - To the Streets
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE
How coronavirus changed the New York region
Do you have coronavirus symptoms?
What's Open, What's Closed in the Tri-State area
Back to school information
COVID-19 Help, Information. Stimulus and Business Updates
UPDATES
New York City
New Jersey
Long Island
Westchester and Hudson Valley
Connecticut
abc7NY Phase Tracker: