Ongoing monitoring of wastewater in the New York City metropolitan area has found repeated evidence of poliovirus in sewage, the state Department of Health on Tuesday announced. 

The most recent wastewater test results drew samples from Brooklyn and Queens and found polio genetically linked to a case previously found in Rockland County. 

State officials on Sunday extended an executive order declaring a disaster emergency to enable more resources for polio vaccinations and detection in New York. 

The state Department of Health earlier this summer confirmed the first case of polio in New York in a decade in Rockland County. A wastewater detection system has since turned up traces of poliovirus in the greater New York City area.  

"These findings put an alarming exclamation point on what we have already observed: unvaccinated people are at a real and unnecessary risk," state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said. "We have seen more New Yorkers getting vaccinated. But these latest results are a searing reminder that there is no time to waste, especially for young children, who must be brought up to date with vaccinations right away. Paralysis changes life forever. Fortunately, the response is simple: get vaccinated against polio.” 

Between July 21 and Oct. 2, more than 28,260 people have been vaccinated for polio in Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, and Nassau counties as health officials conduct an outreach effort for communities to improve vaccination rates for the virus.