The measles outbreak in New York has taken a new turn, with the announcement on Thursday that prisoners at the Otisville Correctional Facility will not be allowed to have visitors.
The decision was made after it was learned that a Jewish child with the measles had visited his father at the facility in recent days.
Preliminary information indicates the visitor ban will be in effect until after Pesach, at minimum.
The closure has been placed on both the “camp” which houses prisoners with lighter offenses and medium security lockup for prisoners serving longer sentences.
This will directly impact not only the dozens of Jewish inmates who desperately want to see their families ahead of Pesach and on Chol Hamoed, but the hundreds of prisoners in the general population at the facility.
The child is a Williamsburg resident, where there have been dozens of confirmed cases of measles during a months-long outbreak.
Rabbonim have been pleading with people to make sure their children are vaccinated, but the anti-vaaxer community continues to push back.
Sadly, the level of anti-Semitism on social media regarding Orthodox Jews who are refusing to vaccinate has exploded, and this latest incident will undoubtedly cause even more hate.
Otisville is located about 70 miles northwest of New York City.
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16 Responses
Just unbelievable how much bad reputation those anti-vaccine people are causing the Jewish communities .
I have been to Otisville many times and NO one can imagine the Agmes Nefesh that a prisoner will have not being able to see their child on visiting day and before Yom Tov. The father who his child came to visit no one cares if he can see his kid or not because if he refuses to vaccinate his child he will suffer the consequences, but why do all prisoners have to pay such a dear punishment?
Very sad to see that a child has a father in prison and that a mother would take a child with measles out of the house. Both the fact that the father is in prison and the mother apparently didn’t vaccinate shows very poor judgement from both parents.
Nachpesa darcheinu venachkorah
So sad I hope thos doesnt create unnecessary ‘aiva’ against those inside
This is the wrong picture lol. It’s like when the New York Times used a picture of Yeshiva of Flatbush for the r article …jk L’havdil
This child was a baby of six months that couldn’t be vaccinated all other siblings were vaccinated the chillul hashem is that yidden are not don lkaf zchus how much pain this family is going threw of there father sitting in jail now they need to read all the hate yidden are writing
this adds to the chillul HaShem that the large Jewish population of Otisville created already. it only shows the truth of the old litvishe saying, de galach is frum, a yid darf zein ehrliche.
@Slimhirsh
If the child was 6 months and non vaccinated-or even worse had the measles- they should not be leaving quarantine.
Knowingly traveling in public with someone having measles is both irresponsible and wrong.
Again where the heck is the Rabbonim in conjunction with leading DR’s saying it’s advisable to vaccinate. Why is NO ONE is doing anything? At least if there was some ads in some papers in the media that says Frum jews do vaccinate. However the media takes a few (OK more then a few) bad apples and makes it look like no frum jews vaccinate. Where is our PR push saying most yidden do vaccinate???? What are we waiting for??? Why in the frum papers it’s only the Health department paying for ads?
This thing can really spiral out of control. Chol Hamoed is coming up in a few weeks and everyone will be going places. What will stop some place to not allow yidden into their location due to these evil and ignorant and uneducated anti-vaxx crowd!! If a prison can do this what is next??
To all you anti-vaxxers. I am saying Tehillim for you and your family that you come to your senses and to vaccinate!!!
I wonder why would the Otisville Correctional Facility go for such an all out “quarantine”?
Is that a standard policy or collective punishment?
Would they take such a step if the child was a non Jew?
How did they find out that the child had measles?
Did the family out off the goodness of their Jewish heart inform them after the fact?
Friedfish,
What’s wrong with the picture? The sign says Otisville Correctional Facility.
Slimhirsh,
How do you know this?
Don’t know where slimhirsh got her information about age of the child. However, during an outbreak, a child of 6 months SHOULD be vaccinated. Furthermore, even if the child was younger than 6 months and couldn’t be vaccinated, the REASON for the child getting measles was due to the Williamsburg anti-vaxxer reshaim. And as mentioned by others, this just becomes a double chillul hashem-since most people (including myself) can’t unserstand how frum people can be in prison in the first place! Terrible, terrible!
slimhirsh, the family took a sick child, 6 months old, to see the tatte? the child is the victim of the lack of universal vaccination in his/her community. leave the child home and move to a better community and hope de eppel falt zehr viyt fun der boim.
They went with the child 2 weeks the child wasn’t sick at that time
so i see after all these conversations that you guys must find something negative on this story no matter how correct and innocent they would be
dan zaan lekaf zechis i guess is not meant for those reading ywn
just for your info for all those asking why this kid went to visit his father even tough he was sick ? i got news for you that this kid didnt go out of his house besides to the doctor since the mother diagnosed there is issues with her kid the reason why they made the visitor ban is because People with measles can spread the disease from {4 days before the rash starts} until about 4 days after that.
Wow..the reason measles is so contagious is bec its contiguous x amount of days b4 rash comes out..obviously they didnt know the chikd had it..and once diagnosed the dr asks all public places the child has been for x amt of days b4..and then dept of health takes over..