The wife, 20-year-old son, 14-year-old daughter and neighbor of a Westchester man who tested positive for the novel coronavirus have also all tested positive. That makes six positive cases in New York state.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the additional cases at a press conference on Wednesday morning. The governor said the neighbor is the person who drove the infected man to the hospital, therefore he was in an enclosed space with the man. At 1:27PM ET The Governor tweeted that his condition had B”H turned STABLE. His name for Tehillim is אליעזר יצחק בן שפרה (Eliezer Yitzchok ben Shifra).
The father works at Lewis and Garbuz P.C., a small law firm in midtown. At least seven contacts from his job are being evaluated for potential exposure, authorities told YWN.
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In addition, New York Law School is closed Wednesday for cleaning after a student came in contact with the Westchester coronavirus patient, who is a lawyer in Manhattan.
The Westchester County cases are suspected to be from “community spread.”
UPDATE: The patient, a 50-year-old attorney from Westchester, is now in stable condition and is improving. https://t.co/wL05eXDzPv
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 4, 2020
Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, Westchester Torah Academy in White Plains, and Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) Academy and SAR High School in Riverdale, Bronx are all closed. The schools are associated with the Westchester County cases.
Temple Young Israel in New Rochelle, where the patients are congregants, has been ordered to suspend services for the foreseeable future. Some congregants have been ordered to self-quarantine due to possible exposure.
Update: Yeshiva University's Wilf Campus will be closed until Friday out of an abundance of caution.
SAR Academy and High School in Riverdale will be closed until purim.#COVID19 #coronavirus
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 4, 2020
Yeshiva University sent out the following email Wednesday morning:
We have unfortunately confirmed that our student has tested positive for COVID-19 and our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family as well as to all those affected.
We are taking every precaution by canceling all classes on the Wilf Campus in Washington Heights for Wednesday March 4, 2020. This includes all in-person graduate courses on that campus as well as at the boys’ high school.
This precautionary step will allow us to work with city agencies and other professionals to best prepare our campus and ensure the uncompromised safety of our students, faculty and staff.
All classes and operations at our other campuses continue as normal.
What this means for students on the Wilf Campus:
• Dormitories and food services will remain open for students who stay on campus
• Office of Student Life and Residence Life are available to help if students have concerns or need additional support
• Students who have been quarantined or in self quarantine will be monitored by our health center along with guidance from city agencies, and we will provide them with food
• Midterms will be postponed for the day
• Our Counseling Center is available for students who would like additional support
For faculty and staff on the Wilf campus:
• All essential staff should report to work, while non-essential staff may work remotely. Please let your supervisors know your plans.
• Please communicate with your students regarding any midterm exams for this week.
As new information emerges, the YU administration and faculty will share it with you. We have every expectation that Wilf will reopen tomorrow. In the meantime, we have been working to set up remote access for classes and administrative work.
Please visit our website for the guidance we provided last week to remain vigilant about your health, https://www.yu.edu/health-alert
We will continue to pray for full recovery for all those who are impacted by COVID-19.
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman
Meanwhile, the MTA Yeshiva has cancelled Yeshiva today out of an “abundance of caution”. Also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys, MTA is located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.
The following is an email sent to the parents and students moments ago:
Dear Talmidim, Parents, and Faculty,
We are continuing to work closely with Yeshiva University and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to monitor the ongoing coronavirus situation. In consultation with YU, out of an abundance of caution, yeshiva is closed for today. We are working with the bus company to provide immediate return transportation and to ensure that all talmidim get home safely. For our dorm talmidim, the dorm will remain open and fully staffed. We will share a communication later today that provides detailed information regarding this decision. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
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6 Responses
Terrible! We must all daven for them and the entire Klal Yisroel.
They should all have a refuah shlaima b’soch sh’ar cholei amo Yisroel quickly
Everyone take upon themselves to be early for shacharis tomorrow morning.
Quote of the Day- -Book of Ben Sira:
אל תצר צרת מחר כי לא תדע מה ילד יום שמא מחר בא ואיננו
נמצא מצטער על העולם שאין שלו
Do not suffer from tomorrow’s trouble, that is, do not worry about problems that might arise in the future, as you do not know what a day will bring. Perhaps when tomorrow comes, the individual who was so worried will not be among the living, and he was consequently upset over a world that is not his.
Talmud, Yevamot, 63b
Whenever I hear of a shul or a yeshiva having problems, I wonder if there’s talking during davening there, or lashon horo, or something else that would cause Hashsem to think that they need to work on themselves. I don’t know if any of these are the case in these places, but I do know that everything in the world happens precisely in the way Hashem wants it to, and that He knows everything that happens. Everyone, myself included, should take stock of what he needs to do teshuva for.
And I say what I always say “the basic message is not to get too comfortable in gals and start awaiting Moshiach!! I feel like at this point MOSHIACH WOULD BE ON THE TABLE!! HASHEM IS PLEADING ‘MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN THINK ABOUT MOSIACH” The Chofetz Chaim said that if klal Yisroel would be waiting for Moshiach” HE WOULD HAVE TP COME”. If he didn’t come its a siman “THAT WE ARE NOT WAITING”!!!!!! Rabbosai WAKE UP!!!! WAKE UP!!!!! DAVEN FOR ACHEINU BAIS YISROEL HANISUNIM BATZARA!!! OPEN YOUR HEARTS AND CRY OUT TO HASHEM “MENA MAGEIFA MINACHLASECHA!! Do you realize what this Corona means to Klal Yisroel?? Death, avoiding Mikvaos, No handshakes, people not sharing in simchos, People avoiding people, embarrassment Yeshivos closing down (which started already) Not going to daven out of fear….. etc So what are we waiting for?? why are shuls not saying tehillim together?? If the askanim are sleeping we must wake up and do yeshiva and Daven with all our hear and be michazek in EMUNA AND BITACHON. Ill end off a bit different then most speakers “WE SHOULD BE ZOCHE TO WAIT FOR MOSHIACH THEN HE WILL FOR SURE COME” LIKE THE CHAFETZ CHAIM PROMISED. AMEN!