The Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center conducted a survey of almost 9,000 Israelis who contracted the coronavirus and found that they contracted the virus more often from family members than from attending shuls or even restaurants or nightclubs.
The study showed that 68% of the people survey contracted the virus from someone in their own home, 10.3% were exposed at schools, yeshivas, and universities, 5.8% at medical facilities and 3.9% percent at events or conferences.
Only 2.2% were exposed to the virus at shuls. Another 2% were exposed to the virus at shopping centers or in stores and 1.8% at recreational venues.
The source of infection for the remaining 8.2% could not be identified.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
These types of studies provide very useful anecdotal information but lack rigor since most individuals have no great certainty as to WHERE and HOW they contracted the virus. Unless they’ve been 100 percent “shelter at home” they could have been in contact unknowingly with a carrier outside the home..
And this is exactly why there seems to be a disproportionately large number of cases in frum communities with way larger families. Not because they are less cautious than the general population (which is evident when you look around) but simply because they live with more people.
That sounds like the normal situation for a respiratory virus that is usually free of serious symptoms. This supports the view that closing things (shuls, business, education, etc.) wasn’t called for, suggesting the public health figures were too anxious to show off their superpowers, and the politicians probably had a non-health agenda to push.
Assuming it is correct that home is where the spread is, this does not tell us that measures outside the home are unnecessary. Someone in the home brings the virus in, and then it spreads rapidly through the home. Akuperma’s inference that there is no need for reducing contacts outside the home is spectacularly wrong and unsoundly conspiratorial.