The frum community in Melbourne, Australia is growing more and more worried as Rosh Hashanah approaches,
One of the members of the Chareidi community spoke to B’Chadrei Chareidim about the situation in the city earlier this week. “Our state, Victoria, where Melbourne is located, announced today that the restrictions will continue for another two to four weeks and this is after we’ve already been in lockdown for six consecutive weeks.”
“This essentially means that there’s no way to hold a minyan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In another four weeks, if the infection rate decreases, they’ll allow five people to daven together with a sixth person as the chazzan, something which obviously doesn’t help us since we need ten people.”
“Unlike Melbourne, the city of Sydney, the largest city in Australia in the state of New South Wales, is in a better situation. There, residents are subject to only light restrictions so they can form a minyan, etc. although they have to wear masks.”
Melbourne residents are currently forbidden to leave their homes except for essential work which cannot be performed at home such as food production and medical services and essential errands within three miles (five kilometers) of their homes. Outdoor exercise is limited to one hour a day.
Another member of the local community said: “The frum community is facing many difficulties. There’s no traveling to weddings outside the country, there’s no possibility of leaving Australia. Families tried to receive assistance from top lawyers to obtain a permit to leave but failed. Wealthy families paid huge sums to lawyers to no avail.”
“The only way to leave is to declare that you’re leaving Australia but then you can’t come back for three months so it’s not a feasible option.”
He also elaborated on the huge fines that the government issues to those who violate the regulations. “A non-essential business in Melbourne that opens can be fined as much as $99,000. The fine for not wearing a mask is $200, the fine for violating stay-at-home orders is between $1,650 and $10,000, and the fine for violating quarantine a second time, or if someone is found positive for the coronavirus and is found violating quarantine is between $4,950 and $20,000.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Better to protect our lives and stay home. I have learned to blow shofar and will be doing so to my family, friends and neighbors who also are not going to minyans.
In view of the tragic total lock-down in Melbourne:- So if they anyways cannot go out & have to spend R’H services @home, and quite possibly Sukkos too, there is absolutely no concern of possibly inadvertently carrying a שופר or ארבע-מינים a distance of 4 אמות in a רשות-הרבים, and hence no reason to be suppressed and not blow שופר and pick up ארבע-מינים on 1st day on שבת; Of-course only speaking of this year, and not future years such as 2023, when BE’H Corona shall long since be ancient History.
נושא בעול עם חבריו
Don’t try to be smarter than your goyish neighbors
Can’t go overseas to a wedding? Oy it’s just like Czarist Russia! אל תתגרו באומות
למה תתראו
Sounds like the Australians are doing the right things to control the virus.
Better not being at a minyan than being in the cemetery