COVID-19 Update Rabbi Dr Glatt: Why this Tremendous Surge Now all Over Frum Communities?
by Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD
We are again at a crossroads. Both in the Jewish calendar, entering into Yom Kippur, where life and death decisions will be made, and in the world of COVID-19, with a disconcerting continuing rise in cases in our area, where life and death decisions will be made.
“Mi Bamageifa” (and who will die by plague…):
In just the past 24 hours, I have been inundated with numerous pressing shailos from communities all over regarding COVID-19 exposures. Here are but a few of the quarantine questions that Rabbonim and shul presidents have asked me.
“Our Rosh Hashana chazzan said wearing a mask was too difficult. He davened for the amud without one. He developed symptoms and tested positive the following day…”
“Our Rav gave a drasha on Rosh Hashana without a mask. He turned positive the next day…”
“A Rebbi (who was also a chazzan in a shul) did not wear a mask in his school or shul. He turned positive after Rosh Hashana…”
All wanted to know – does everyone in shul / school class need to quarantine?
Speciously, many people remain unconcerned about their spreading COVID-19 and ruining Yom Kippur and Succos for everyone they come into contact with, as evidenced by the laxity in some communities and some individuals regarding masking and distancing compliance. Based on what?
To remove any doubts about the scientific truths to date, these are the undisputed COVID-19 facts.
Worldwide to date: Cases: 31,672,300; Deaths: 972,081
United States to date: Cases: 6,897,661; Deaths: 200,818
The U.S. this week has an average of 41,490 new COVID-19 cases daily, up 13% from the average seen two weeks ago. That comes to 13 new cases / 100,000 population. At least 27 states are now reporting increased cases compared to just 9 states on September 14. On average, the U.S. is seeing ~ 770 daily deaths, and a model from the University of Washington predicts the U.S. death toll will double to 400,000 before the end of the year. The U.S. accounts for 4% of the world’s population, but has ~ 20% of the world’s deaths from COVID-19. Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, an excellent reputable senior epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, stated: “I think we’re just in the beginning of what’s going to be a marked increase in cases in the fall. And it won’t be just a testing artifact, either. This is real.”
Israel: Sadly, acheinu beis Yisroel has been averaging well over 4,000 new cases daily, a rate of 47 new cases / 100,000, a rate 3.5x the U.S. incidence, a rate higher than any other country in the world at this time. Today there were 6,782 cases. Hospitals in Israel are nearing overload, surpassing the safe number of patients that they are able to care for. Hashem yeracheim.
5 Towns: Each one of the 5 Towns falls in the highest new case incidence numbers for Nassau County. Lawrence holds the number one spot in the County for the last 8 weeks, with Cedarhurst 3rd, followed by Great Neck 4th, Woodmere 5th and Hewlett 6th. Inwood is 8th.
Far Rockaway: FR has the distinction, along with 5 other neighborhoods (Midwood, Borough Park, Williamsburg, Kew Gardens and Bensonhurst) of accounting for 20% of all new NYC cases.
How do you think these / our neighborhoods are described in the lay press and by the Department of Health? What type of comments do you think are being made on polite social media, never mind on the dark web and nefarious sites that always besmirch us.
Why is this happening now?
This all “re-started” with the flagrant disregard for scientifically vetted guidelines around weddings and kiddushim, large public gatherings, with many people eating unmasked and in close proximity.
What proof exists, you may ask, that such events indeed cause suffering? Maine public health officials just published a shocking report of an August 7th wedding in Millinocket, Maine. At the wedding, guests ignored social distancing guidelines and mask recommendations. The results: 135 guests got COVID-19, with 7 guests DYING from this wedded bliss exposure. Do you think that young couple will ever be able to look back happily at what should have been one of the most joyous events in their life, knowing that their “simcha” was the cause of so much misery? This wedding is just one in a list of several studied “superspreader” events in the country over the summer. How many more are still to occur?
Do we all have such a short collective memory of what happened Purim and Pesach? Have we forgotten the numerous funerals and shivah calls that we zoomed? Aren’t we “gomlei chassadim”?
How can any person insist on their ‘right’ to not wear a mask when it will potentially cause a fellow person to die? When it might perpetuate a vile chilul Hashem that our community does not follow public health guidelines? How many yeshivas and shuls have to be publicly quarantined before we realize the bittul Torah and bittul tefillah betzibbur that we have caused?
All of this can still be avoided by following the simple – and not so difficult – halachic obligation to mask and social distance. This statement is based on my conversations with numerous poskim from all aspects of the frum community.
Rabbi Axelrod, shlita, will be giving his inaugural Shabbos Shuva drasha this motzei Shabbos, September 26th, at 9:00 PM. He asked me to please still give my COVID-19 update Zoom talk before his shiur, which I will do from 8:15 – 8:45 PM this motzei Shabbos. You can join both sessions via:
Zoom at Meeting ID 980 3243 6809; Password: SUMMER2020;
or by phone: 929 205 6099;
or via YouTube link obtainable from yiwoodmerecovidupdate@gmail.com.
3 comments:
This backstabbing fraud Nisht-Glatt is still at it with double talk I see.
After Nisht-Glatt was outed as providing a signed affidavit IN SECRET to the Federal Judge, at the request of the Agudah Fressers to besmirch Cuomo & the State position that overnight camps are dangerous, Nisht-Glatt has since become one of the name recognition zoynos that the Fressers peddle around to yeshivos & Bais Yaakovs to convince the parents to send their children into death traps with no distancing, no ventilation, no enforcement of mask wearing, where it's crawling with infected people who they purposely & clandestinely do not quarantine.
Nisht-Glatt should have his license revoked! And then wash out his mouth with hospital grade soap because it STINKS from all his talking out of both sides of it!
Get an education. Nisht-Glatt is a much bigger backstabber than Berman.
While Nisht-Glatt kept stalling on his public statement re camps, he had submitted a pro-Fresser affidavit to the Federal judge, at the request of the Fressers, who asked him to use his top shelf medical reputation to dispute Cuomo. Nisht-Glatt did not tell anyone that he secretly conspired with the Fressers to turn overnight camps into virus incubators. Then he issues his belated announcement everyone was waiting for - that said nothing - he just beat around the bush with many words that arrived at no conclusion. Someone then dug up Nisht-Glatt's doublecross from Pacer and it was posted on this blog & others with commentary blasting his two-face underhanded stunt.
AFTER Nisht-Glatt was outed, he 'came out of the closet' & the Fressers who were initially only peddling Berman's name around for yeshivos to use in the effort to convince parents to send their kids back into the death trap yeshiva classrooms, added Nisht-Glatt's name alongside Berman. At least Berman has always been upfront that he is a shvantz & roidef.
Remember when the Vayelepoler's demented son attacked the Agudah Fressers for not being anti-medical ENOUGH? It was comical to watch the usual suspects like old Shmuel K jump up & down in protest even though old Shmuel K actually agreed with the demented son. It's like the situation with the Lubavs that 770 has to condemn Open Meshichist because it's a PR & fundraising disaster to talk Meshichist out loud.
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/featured/1904765/the-attack-on-dr-glatt-is-not-so-glatt.html
Now the nuts in the same point of the spectrum as the demented son are attacking Glatt for not being ENOUGH of an anti-medical establishment traitor.
It's not enough that Glatt tried to get all the kids into overnight camps and actually did get them into yeshiva buildings this Elul. Because when Glatt FINALLY draws the line at 30% infection rate in Flatbush that he agrees at THAT point to shut down yeshivos, he deserves a spanking! Fressers to Glatt's rescue!
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