Aryeh Even, z’l, 88, Israel’s first fatality from the coronavirus, was prepared for burial at the Shamgar funeral home on Motzei Shabbos.

In a video taken by the Chevra Kadisha of Yerushalayim, the Chevra Kadisha members are seen wearing protective gear covering them from head to toe, removing the body from the vehicle and bringing it into the funeral home.

The levaya was held about half an hour after midnight on Motzei Shabbos at Har Hamenuchos in Givat Shaul, where the niftar was buried. No more than 20 people were present at the levaya, each maintaining a distance of two meters from each other, according to Health Ministry rules.

The Health Ministry also stipulated that the Chevra Kadisha members must be covered from head to toe, must inform the cemetery workers that the niftar is a coronavirus victim and must thoroughly disinfect the vehicle used to transport the niftar following the funeral.

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The levaya participants were also instructed to refrain from touching the body of the niftar but aside from that, the levaya particpants were not in need of further protective actions since the body was double-wrapped in two protective bags before the levaya.

כעת בירושלים, נערכים להלוייתו של אריה אבן ז"ל.
(צילום: גחש״א קהילת ירושלים) pic.twitter.com/0SrRb0Q52Q

— אהרן רבינוביץ (@AronRabino1) March 21, 2020

The participants could safely stand near the wrapped body and were not required to maintain a distance from the body as long as they did not touch it.

Even, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary passed away on Friday after contracting the virus at the Migdal Nofim assisted living facility in Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem. He left behind four children, 18 grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

“He was a dear and beloved person, lived a full life and was devoted to his family – a strong man until his last moments,” Even’s family said in a statement released after his death. “We’re happy that he lived for four years in his last years at the Migdal Nofim assisted living facility and loved it there very much.”

“We’re pained by the fact that he spent his last days and moments when his family was prevented from being by his side. We thank the medical staff at Shaarei Tzedek hospital for the devoted care, compassion and empathy.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)