COURIER LIFE, APRIL 10-16, 2020 7
Dear Fellow New Yorkers,
As our city continues to reel from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, we are joining together in a unified voice to urge you
to observe stringent safety precautions in all areas of your life.
You might be a carrier. Even if you are perfectly healthy and feeling well, you can still be carrying the virus. That means that you can
infect the people around you, some of whom might be vulnerable. The more people who ignore good social distancing and hygiene guidelines,
the more people will be infected, get sick, and die. Your choice to go outside, go shopping, or spend time with friends could directly
lead to someone else’s pain and death. Stay inside – not just to protect yourself and your loved ones, but to protect your neighbors, your
friends, and the essential workers who are literally risking their lives to help us. First responders like police officers, doctors, firefighters,
nurses, paramedics: these are some of the people who you could be killing by being reckless.
The hospitals are struggling. With an enormous influx of new patients – most of whom need identical treatment, hospitals are simply
unequipped to handle it. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff are utterly overwhelmed, and they don’t have enough equipment to care for
patients. Worse – many healthcare workers are getting sick because they don’t have proper protection as they care for patients. If you
are not complying with safety guidelines, you are putting doctors and nurses at severe risk. You going outside = more infected people =
more strain on the hospitals = more death.
People are dying. Hundreds of people are dying every day from this virus. In New York City alone, more than 1,200 people died in the last
week. Hundreds more in the ICU, on ventilators, and being admitted every day. The cost of human life from this virus has already been
astronomical, and experts indicate that we haven’t even reached the apex yet. Staying home and practicing social distancing WORKS. It’s
proven to lower infection rates and death tolls, particularly with a virus as contagious as COVID-19.
Please heed our warning. It’s not easy to stay isolated, but it’s also not easy to bury a family member. By the end of this tragic outbreak,
every New Yorker will likely know someone who died from COVID-19. Do your part to reduce that impact.
What can you do? You must stay home. We urge you to celebrate upcoming religious holidays safely at home. Only leave the house for
urgent matters, and when you do, wear protective gear when appropriate and stay far away from others. While at home, clean communal
surfaces often (such as doorknobs, faucets, tables). If anyone in your household is sick, isolate them immediately. Family members/
roommates should quarantine as well, and isolate in a separate room from the individual who is symptomatic. Wash your hands frequently
and don’t touch your face!
Let’s work together to keep each other safe.
Councilmember Chaim Deutsch
Chairman, NYC Jewish Caucus
Councilmember Mark Levine
Chairman, Health Committee
Rabbi Shea Hecht
Chairman, NCFJE
Pervez Siddqui
Chairman, Apna Community Center
Rabbi Yaniv Meirov
CEO, CHAZAQ
Devorah Halberstam
Jewish Children’s Museum
Rabbi Berish Freilich
Brooklyn, New York
Barry Spitzer
District Manager, Community Board 12
Councilmember Ben Kallos
Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus
Dr. Edward Bennett
Internal & Emergency Medicine
Moshe Wulliger
Flatbush Hatzalah
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt
Infectious Disease Specialist
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman
Community Board 9
Reverend Kevin McCall
Crisis Action Center
Dr. Stuart Ditchek
Pandemic Response Working Group
Yelena Makhnin
Brighton Beach BID
Josh Mehlman
Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition
Imam Habibullah
Brooklyn, New York
Jack Meyer
President, Misaskim
Councilmember Adrienne Adams
Co-Chair, BLAC
Councilmember Carlina Rivera
Chair, Hospitals Committee
Linda Sadacka
Moms on a Mitzvah
Dr. Richard Cofsky
Infectious Disease Specialist
Pastor Jason Hendrickson
Restoration Tabernacle
Imam Ahmed Ali
IQRA Masjid
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik
Rabbinical Alliance of America
Ida Sanoff
Brooklyn, New York
Chaskel Bennett
Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition
Theresa Scavo
Chair, Community Board 15
Zafar Iqbal
Al-Rayaan Muslim Funeral Services
Councilmember Diana Ayala
Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus
Alan Esses
Flatbush Hatzalah
Suzanne Faye Zakheim, PhD, LCSW
NYU School of Social Work