Antwerp Jewish Community Braces For 85% Infection Rate And Hundreds Of Deaths From Coronavirus

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ANTWERP (JTA) – Jewish community leaders in Antwerp are predicting that the coronavirus will infect 85% of its members — a significantly higher rate than the one projected for Belgium’s population.

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The projection, which was compiled last week and obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, also predicts that the coming weeks will see at least 550 deaths in the heavily haredi Orthodox community based on a calculation of a 3.4% death rate among 25,000 people.

Marc Van Ranst, a prominent Belgian who has led the country’s anti-influenza policy, said Tuesday that he expects half of Belgium’s population to contract the virus. Other estimates put the figure at 70%.

As of Friday, Belgium had 1,795 confirmed cases and 21 deaths from the COVID-19 virus.

Rabbi Pinchas Kornfeld, secretary-general of the Machsike Hadas religious community in Antwerp, told JTA that he was aware of several community members who went into self-isolation because they suspect they have the virus. There have been no deaths or severe cases from within the community, he said.

The estimate, compiled by medical experts in the community, said the projections for Antwerp Jews are “higher than the general population due to social interactions” among its members. A fifth of the community, or about 3,400 people, will require hospitalization and 10%, or 1,700 of the members, will reach a critical medical condition, according to the estimate.

Michael Freilich, a Modern Orthodox lawmaker from Antwerp, echoed the thinking from the estimate. He told JTA that the higher infection rate “makes sense, because Antwerp Jews all know each other, each synagogue is an extended family.”

“If the average Belgian person has a circles of 15 close friends and family,” he said, “then with Antwerp Jews it’s 150 people.”

Kornfeld said that members of his community are reluctant to tell others about diseases.

“People don’t want to say ‘I have corona,’ it’s seen as a private matter so there’s no way of knowing how far it’s spread so far.”

Belgium went into partial lockdown on Monday.

Rabbinical authorities from across Antwerp’s multiple haredi sections have instructed congregants to respect the lockdown order and refrain from gathering with people from outside their own household.

Many have, but others from the community are flouting the kingdom’s emergency regulations, Shmulie Markowitz, head of the Hatzole Antwerp Jewish community emergency and rescue unit, said Friday.

Specifically, community members are violating rules that preclude more than 10 individuals occupying the same space at a store.

“People push in, and they bring their children with them, and this must stop,” he said in an impassioned plea he sent over WhatsApp to many community members.

Freilich said the projections can be avoided.

“Social distancing and partial quarantine are meant to ensure such numbers are never reached,” he said.


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Numbers please
Numbers please
4 years ago

Fake news hysteria at its worst.
How many frum yidden have died so far as a DIRECT result of the Coronavirus???

Frum ICU MD
Frum ICU MD
4 years ago

I don’t believe that 3.4% is a remotely plausible fatality rate for a community which is so heavily weighted towards younger people and children, as most frum communities are.

Nevertheless, this will be a tremendous tragedy for all our communities, and anything that can help mitigate it by slowing the spread and protecting the most at risk must be done.

Chinky
Chinky
4 years ago

…braces for death? How stupid and sensational can the media be?! No on is bracing for death.

triumphinwhitehouse
triumphinwhitehouse
4 years ago

I am guessing 10 OLD, SICK people will die just like they would die from the flu, common cold, pneumonia or anything else as they have a bad immune system.

NJ mom
4 years ago

Fake news???
Go ask literally any hospital worker you know and I mean anyone. Even the janitor. Ask them what conditions people are working under at the hospital now. My sister was describing them putting up tents at her hospital and that they are low on supplies. Stop posting posts that will make people less careful!!!!

ah yid
ah yid
4 years ago

I live on a typical block in boro park. This morning just between the hours of 8am and 9am I counted 12 yes 12 men and bochrim going to daven with talis and tefilin. Multiply this by the other blocks in Boro Park and I feel safe to say there were well over 1000 people going to daven. The doctors have said don’t gather. Our Askanim have pleaded don’t gather. Our gedolim have paskened stay home and daven. And we have people that say “we know better.” Rashi says on the posuk shimu na homorim (Chukas perek 20 p 10) Morim – shotim. But doctors have said they are roschim. You may feel fine but you can pass it on to others. How will you answer after 120. The rabanim have said its a mitzva haba bavaira. I want to be dan lekaf zechus many in our community only have kosher phones, they don’t have internet perhaps they really don’t know the seriousness of the situation. If you are reading this and you have someone in your family who is going out to daven. Tell them Its a mitzva haba beavaira. The Bobov 45 Rebbe said “The same Hashem who says daven with a minyon now tell us venishmartem meod lenafshosaichem.

Dina
Dina
4 years ago

Why are they picking the 3.4% death rate, when the one from S Korea is more realistic? (.76%)

Tschavnik
Tschavnik
4 years ago

250,000 contagious people. Almost 10,000 dead. 17% of victims in intensive care. Higher death rate than recent flu. This is Fake News? This explains why so many ‘frum’ yidden are trumpf lemmings and backwards.

anonymous
anonymous
4 years ago

We don’t know how long incubation is, even symptoms differ, even young are on respirators. You want to know how many have died????? Are you kidding? Who knows how many have been infected and what the next day holds and what the end results might be.. You’re burying your rear end in the sand. If you’re not a doctor, please shut up.

Yosef
Yosef
4 years ago

The numbers and rates are very far from accurate. China can’t be trusted with their figures. And most of the other countries are in no position at this point to give real numbers either. How many people are infected but have not been tested? I don’t think anyone can give the real numbers.
This seems to be something that not one single government has so far been able to contain.
Maybe it’s has hem sending us a message Maybe we need to do something ourselves to acknowledge this.

Shlomo
Shlomo
4 years ago

1) Why haven’t frum Jews died? Because it only broke out in our communities recently. That’s also really odd logic: thousand have died, we know there’s an epidemic, but we’ll wait until Jews have died before taking action? Too late.
2) This isn’t the flu. If you are so brainwashed by the right-wing media, then neither rational logic nor data can help.

Yankel
Yankel
4 years ago

I have learned in my life that Frum Chassidish Yidden are in a class of their own. Their sense of Gahavah is troubling.

You may warn them all you want. They are above it all. Well so be it. I speak to my family. I tell them to be careful. That’s all I can do.

G-d will sort it out. He is forever. We’re temporary. G-d at times loses his patience with people who ought to know better.

Have a Good Shabbos and may G-d have mercy on us all.

anonymous
anonymous
4 years ago

Stop !!!!!!! Stop this ignorant dangerous nonsense.
Dr. Zimmerman head of all Hatzalah of NYS announced that younger and younger are being hospitalized out of proportion and ICUs are straining at capacity. Another Hatzalah director said that people are fighting for their lives. They’re lying??? Hatzallah members themselves are endangered. My relative, a Hatzallah guy is now in quarantine.. What’s different about Antwerp?
STOP…. STOP.

Rabbi Eden
Rabbi Eden
4 years ago

Message from Genut of Tosh Hatzalah now circulating. In short, people are collapsing in Williamsburg ON THE STREE and Yereim Chapel has its hands full Rachmana litzlan. The word is getting out that people are being hit left and right. This has nothing to do with Trump, whom I love. KAGA. But it’s an emergency that’s exploding by the nanosecond. Doubt and mock at your own risk. Mankind is in trouble. Antwerp is not on the moon. It’s part of our planet.

J Street are Jewish Kapos
J Street are Jewish Kapos
4 years ago

Why don’t you get the heck out of here already and leave ???? You’re a demented Trump hating loser obsessive meshuganer. Everything in your mindless brain Trump. SCRAM!!!

Heshy
Heshy
4 years ago

This is all fake. JTA is a secular Jewish news service that is like all the other secular Jewish media and groups. They hate Trump and religious Jews. No religious Jews are dying. Not one. This is all a punishment from Heaven for supporting democRATs who support gay marriage.