The mayor ordered enforcement of guidelines to prevent the spread of the corona in Jewish communities in Queens and Brooklyn • Heavy question marks over the adoption of restrictions among the public • In the first wave the virus claimed the lives of thousands of Jews in the city
Haredi women in New York, April
Photography:
Reuters
Before the beginning of Shabbat, health officials in New York began performing corona tests in private religious schools in the city, against the background of a sharp and renewed increase in the morbidity rate in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
The authorities threatened to impose a severe closure in communities where a substantial outbreak would be discovered again.
According to the New York Times, Mayor Bill de Bellasio has ordered police to enforce public health guidelines in Jewish neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn.
His remarks were made based on information that residents do not observe social distance or wear masks.
It was further noted that senior members of the community opposed de Blasio's instructions.
The reason for this: "Hostility towards de Blasio alongside the growing influence of US President Donald Trump, whose perception of the masks and the plague has been adopted," the report said.
"This may be the most dangerous moment ahead of us since leaving the previous quarantine," City Health Commissioner Dr. A. Chukeshi stressed at a news conference in South Brooklyn.
The current timing is quite charged - close to Yom Kippur.
There are heavy question marks about the degree of internalization of the public and the adoption of guidelines in such a short time frame, especially when it comes to restricting gatherings.
According to the local health department, as early as Monday officials will be allowed to file reports or forcibly close businesses and schools.
"There is an explanatory effort in the community in English and Yiddish," de Bellasio insisted.
The current announcement comes after months of a decline or at least flattening of the New York infection curve.
The current concern is that the morbidity situation in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods will get out of control.
If the average infection rate in the city is about three percent, stricter guidelines will be considered, which will include, among other things, closing public schools.
As you may recall, the severe damage to these neighborhoods was already felt in the first wave.
The virus claimed the lives of thousands of Jews in the city in general and in these areas in particular.
That's not all: Officials last week released quite up-to-date and disturbing data, according to which the infection rate in some of the Jewish neighborhoods has actually doubled from about 3% to about 6%.
This relative rate is several times greater than the general urban average, which stands at between one and two percent.
The neighborhoods most prone to the virus are Borough Park, Midwood and Gravesend.