Citing COVID uptick, 138 Long Island Jewish doctors ask community to trust medical experts (Thanks to the Rabbis For Creating Such Confusion, Doctors are Pleading To The Community To Trust Medical Science)
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| Jewish men gather for a socially distanced service at a basketball court on New York City's Lower East Side |
(JTA)
– As Jewish day schools begin in-person classes, a group of 138 Jewish
doctors on Long Island are sounding the alarm over an uptick in COVID
cases and a relaxing of precautions in local Orthodox communities.
“After a quiet summer, cases are now on the rise, specifically in our community. COVID-19 is not a political issue, nor is it old news,” the doctors wrote in an open letter. “If our goal is to keep shuls and schools open and our neighborhood stores in business, we need to recognize that the uptick demands that we take it seriously and follow appropriate precautions.”
Local doctors in several Orthodox communities have noticed slight upticks in COVID cases, with many resulting from summer camps, travel, bungalow colonies and particularly large weddings. Last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 16 new cases were confirmed in Borough Park, home to the city’s largest Hasidic population, with several of those Brooklyn cases connected to a large wedding.
The doctors’ letter explicitly referenced large weddings and other celebrations as events with potential to spread the virus within the community.
“As current contact tracing evidence has shown, many of the new cases of infection have arisen from large gatherings (weddings, bar and bat mitzvah, concerts …) where social distancing and/or mask wearing was not strictly observed,” they wrote.
Dr. Annie Frenkel, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Nassau County and one of the initiators of the letter, noted a widespread relaxing of precautions, like mask wearing and social distancing, over the past several weeks. Frenkel said she had several patients cancel appointments in the last week due to exposure to someone with COVID.
“Everyone was pretty much compliant in the beginning,” she said, “but in the last two to three months, the tide seemed to change. There was a sense that people felt like it was over, they didn’t need to worry anymore.”
Frenkel said she saw people on Central Avenue, the main street that runs through several large Orthodox communities in Nassau County, gathered in groups without masks. But she pointed to the resumption of large weddings as a particular problem.
“It’s gotten out of hand,” she said.
Even more worrying to Frenkel is what she calls an “anti-mask movement” stoked by influential figures within the community on social media who view masks as an infringement of their freedom of expression.
The doctors concluded the letter asking for the community to trust in medical experts to guide them through the pandemic.
“You trust us to take care of you when you are sick and at your most vulnerable, and in life and death decisions. … We collectively request that you trust us in this, as well,” they wrote.
“After a quiet summer, cases are now on the rise, specifically in our community. COVID-19 is not a political issue, nor is it old news,” the doctors wrote in an open letter. “If our goal is to keep shuls and schools open and our neighborhood stores in business, we need to recognize that the uptick demands that we take it seriously and follow appropriate precautions.”
Local doctors in several Orthodox communities have noticed slight upticks in COVID cases, with many resulting from summer camps, travel, bungalow colonies and particularly large weddings. Last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 16 new cases were confirmed in Borough Park, home to the city’s largest Hasidic population, with several of those Brooklyn cases connected to a large wedding.
The doctors’ letter explicitly referenced large weddings and other celebrations as events with potential to spread the virus within the community.
“As current contact tracing evidence has shown, many of the new cases of infection have arisen from large gatherings (weddings, bar and bat mitzvah, concerts …) where social distancing and/or mask wearing was not strictly observed,” they wrote.
Dr. Annie Frenkel, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Nassau County and one of the initiators of the letter, noted a widespread relaxing of precautions, like mask wearing and social distancing, over the past several weeks. Frenkel said she had several patients cancel appointments in the last week due to exposure to someone with COVID.
“Everyone was pretty much compliant in the beginning,” she said, “but in the last two to three months, the tide seemed to change. There was a sense that people felt like it was over, they didn’t need to worry anymore.”
Frenkel said she saw people on Central Avenue, the main street that runs through several large Orthodox communities in Nassau County, gathered in groups without masks. But she pointed to the resumption of large weddings as a particular problem.
“It’s gotten out of hand,” she said.
Even more worrying to Frenkel is what she calls an “anti-mask movement” stoked by influential figures within the community on social media who view masks as an infringement of their freedom of expression.
The doctors concluded the letter asking for the community to trust in medical experts to guide them through the pandemic.
“You trust us to take care of you when you are sick and at your most vulnerable, and in life and death decisions. … We collectively request that you trust us in this, as well,” they wrote.
B'Hadrei Hadorim Reports:
ReplyDeleteDespite a number of yeshivos having suffered outbreaks of coronavirus, Hagaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievski maintains that if bochurim display symptoms of the virus while they are in the yeshiva, they should not undergo tests and their friends should not go into isolation.
One of Rabbi Chaim’s associates explained his opinion to B’Chadrei Charedim: “Rav Chaim thinks that everyone is together in the yeshivos, so it would be superfluous to do tests and would cause time to be wasted from Torah study, since anyway the boys do not return home so that they do not infect older members of their families.”
It should be noted that no yeshiva students required hospitalization during the entire summer Zman and therefore many Roshei Yeshiva do not feel that they should conduct mass tests if one student is feeling symptoms of coronavirus.
Rav Chaim also said that students should not be placed in isolation, neither individually or in groups, since this could lead to more time wasted from communal Torah study. The Roshei Yeshiva are responsible for creating an organized atmosphere (i.e. maintaining capsules) so that students will not be unnecessarily exposed to the virus, but at the same time the sound of Torah study should not stop “because Torah protects and saves.”
In the last few days a number of yeshivos reported widespread outbreaks of coronavirus. At the Rinah Shel Torah yeshiva in Karmiel, 250 out of the 400 students tested positive for the virus. In the Maor Hatorah yeshiva in Rehovot there are 45 cases of coronavirus and in the Ateres Yisrael and Mishkenos Hatorah yeshivas there were more than 20 cases of coronavirus. Due to these cases thousands of students are in isolation even though they are in no real danger even if they are infected. These students find it difficult to continue their studies and Rav Chaim feels that they should return to the Beis Midrash.
Since when is beChadrei Chamorim an anti-vaxx mouthpiece?
ReplyDeleteNot even close to being true that no one was hospitalized! Many bnei yeshiva even died! "There is no real danger"???
Has it really sunk to this now that the Philly-led Agudah Fressers are whispering this in R' Chaim's ear to repeat out loud, while the lowlife grandson Yanky Kanievsky holds him hostage?
Mamash ridiculous! I know how UOJ likes to gloat that he was "right", but already on the first day???!!!
ReplyDeleteI mean, I just got off the phone with Margo because he is the mumche at farentfering that UOJ is never right about anything, but at the very least the optics here are really bad for us.
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/1897543/on-1st-day-j-m-school-closes-after-teacher-diagnosed-with-covid-19.html
On 1st Day: Jerusalem School Closes After Teacher Diagnosed With COVID-19
Israel’s school year began on Tuesday morning, with 2.4 million school children, albeit with major restrictions, especially for 5th graders and above who will have limited hours in the classroom, with the remaining hours conducted via online learning.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the coronavirus cabinet made a late-night about-face decision on Monday night at 11:30 p.m. to delay reopening of schools in 23 red cities after initially voting against the move on Sunday.
The decision was a victory for Prof. Ronni Gamzu, who after finding information on the UOJ website that was covered up by the mainstream media, is adamantly opposed to opening schools in cities with high rates of infection.
“This is not about who is right,” Gamzu said to reporters on Monday afternoon. “We manage risks, and this is not a risk to take,” he said, adding that he believes that there won’t be a single school in red cities without at least one coronavirus carrier.
Boom Boom - Did the Agudah campaign tell you how VITAL you were that they tossed your rear end outta there!
ReplyDeleteYidden, have רחמנות on Reb Chaim. His criminal grandson runs the show. Reb Chaim may not even know what documents his signature have been photoshopped to.
ReplyDeletehttps://bshch.blogspot.com/2020/09/blog-post_303.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FTNdso+%28%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%9D+%D7%A9%D7%9C+%D7%97%D7%A8%D7%93%D7%99%D7%9D%29
ReplyDeleteBelze did a Novominsker I think!
400 pounds cannot die!
ReplyDelete?האם בעלזא הפכה לכת נוצרית?
ReplyDeleteNer Israel dean A. Feldman with a boy. The boy looks at the teacher's face, while the teacher looks at...
ReplyDeleteSick pedophile Agudah!