New York Jewish Community Takes Precautions to Avoid Coronavirus

In response to concerns regarding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Jewish communities in the U.S. are taking precautions to reduce the potential of the disease spreading further.

On March 10, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the decision to close schools, places of worship and other large gatherings within a one-mile zone of the city of New Rochelle for 14 days. He said National Guard troops will help deliver food and disinfect common areas inside the zone.

A Jewish lawyer who lives in New Rochelle in New York’s Westchester County and works at a law firm in Manhattan tested positive for COVID-19 despite no recent travel to any of the countries heavily impacted by the virus. The man, who was diagnosed as having the second confirmed case of COVID-19 in New York, currently is hospitalized in New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. His wife and daughter are under self-quarantine at home. Their son is under quarantine at Yeshiva University. The man had an underlying respiratory condition when he became infected.

The New York Jewish Week reported that the man is Lawrence Garbuz. His wife, Adina Garbuz, who tested positive for the virus, along with their two children, posted a message on Facebook, saying: “All I and my family care about is that my husband/their father get better. We shuttered the windows, turned off the internet and together stayed strong and in good spirits. Other than Lawrence, no one else in my family has been sick other than a slight cough.”

The Jewish Week also reported that five members of another New Rochelle family who had contact with Garbuz and the rabbi of Young Israel, Reuven Fink, tested positive for the virus. The synagogue’s webpage said the rabbi’s wife, Abby Fink, also tested positive for the coronavirus.

A number of Jewish institutions in the greater New York City area have closed out of concern that COVID-19 might spread among those who have come into contact with the family, and there are other Jewish institutions that are taking precautionary measures.

Yeshiva University canceled all classes on its campuses in Washington Heights and Midtown until after Purim (March 10), including undergraduate and in-person graduate courses and classes at the boys high school. Yeshiva University also postponed all social events on those campuses until further notice, and is discouraging people from congregating in common areas. Two students who were considered high risk for exposure due to close contact with the infected student, including the student’s roommate, were tested and came up negative for the virus.

Several synagogues and day schools in and around New Rochelle temporarily closed. Young Israel of New Rochelle, where the initial Jewish patient attended services on Feb. 22 and 23, has canceled davening through March 14, and the rabbi has now contracted the virus. As of press time, Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx was closed through March 11, and its lower school, Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy, where the daughter of the initial Jewish patient is a student, was closed through March 11. Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Westchester Torah Academy in White Plains, N.Y., also shut down temporarily.

A mikveh in Riverdale put out a statement notifying people of its protocols to keep its facility clean. Included among these protocols are:

• Preparation rooms continue to be cleaned in between each use with a disinfecting cleanser.

• Common areas and waiting rooms are thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis and will be cleaned throughout the night with Clorox wipes and other disinfectant products.

• Floors will be cleaned nightly with a disinfectant.

The mikveh noted that a woman who is under quarantine must follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local government agencies and may not break quarantine to immerse in the mikveh. They also asked people not to visit the mikveh if they have any symptoms of illness.

At the AIPAC Policy Conference, which took place in Washington, D.C., March 1-3, two attendees from New York tested positive for the virus as did one from Los Angeles (see main story).

A person who attended a Shabbaton hosted by Young Jewish Conservatives on Feb. 28-29 during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md., tested positive for the virus. The individual lives in Englewood, N.J., and attended Young Israel of new Rochelle on Feb. 23.

Kesher Israel Congregation in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, sent out an email urging people to stay home if they have, or recently had, any symptoms of illness. It also said not to directly kiss the Torah or mezuzot as there is no general halachic requirement to do so. The email also stated not to shake hands, fist bump, hug, or engage in any close physical contact with people at shul.

As of  press time, according to the CDC, there were 99 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States since Jan. 21, with 19 deaths. Cases have been reported in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Of the 423 reported cases, 72 are travel related, 29 from person-to-person spread and the remaining 322 are under investigation.

Zachary Leshin is a writer and former congressional staffer based in Washington, D.C.

This story has been updated to include more information on the coronavirus.

CORRECTION: This story mentioned that the coronavirus outbreak in Washington, D.C., indicated that Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown had confirmed cases of the virus. Georgetown has a confirmed case; Kesher Israel Congregation does not.