THURSDAy, MARCH 5 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ M2 A
the coronavirus outbreak
PHOtOs by sHArOn Pulwer fOr tHe wAsHIngtOn POstA pharmacy in New York’s Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens that is out of face masks and hand
sanitizer. The number of diagnosed cases of coronavirus in the state climbed to 11 as of wednesday.
heart, it means we truly do!”
Gillian Steinberg, an English
teacher at SAr, will b e in quaran-
tine through friday, but she is
still prepping for classes Thurs-
day.
from her home in riverdale,
she and her son, a sophomore at
the school, will put on headsets
for classwork and sit in separate
rooms. The school set up online
classes through Zoom for most of
the school day, allowing for a
45-minute lunch break.
“Everyone is doing the best
they can. The high school’s been
updating us regularly,” she said.
“I don’t get an overall sense of
panic. We’re going to get through
this thing.”
She and her husband, who are
recovering from the flu, said
their doctor told them not to
come in for a medical visit be-
cause Steinberg works at SAr.
She said they were instead diag-
nosed with the flu in the emer-
gency room by doctors in hazmat
suits. Her husband has since
been working remotely.
“I think he’s hoping to go back
to work and be away from the
chaos,” she said.
michael Weissman, owner of
mikey Dubb’s frozen Custard in
New rochelle, said members of
Young Israel were some of his
first customers when he opened
in July 2018 and have been
faithful ever since. The shop is
down the street from the syna-
gogue.
He provided catering for the
synagogue’s carnival on Sunday
for Purim, a festive holiday that
begins monday night. The job did
not affect his employees, he said:
“We’re always wearing gloves
anyways. We’re just redoubling
our efforts.”
Parents who have visited the
shop with children this week
seem anxious, Weissman said.
for now, he’s still scheduled to
cater a Purim event this weekend
for a different synagogue.
“No one wants to panic,”
Weissman said. “Everyone is tak-
ing it a day at a time right now.”
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]schwartzman reported from
washington. Miriam berger in
washington contributed to this
report.intern at the man’s law firm,
which is located near Grand
Central Te rminal. five of those
employees were “being tested as
we speak, in the city,” mayor Bill
de Blasio said Wednesday. one
was tested in New Jersey. The
results of those tests were pend-
ing.
The lawyer’s 20-year-old son
attends Yeshiva University, Cuo-
mo said. The student’s roommate
and close friend were awaiting
test results at Bellevue Hospital.
The university on Wednesday
canceled all classes at its Wilf
Campus in Washington Heights.
matthew Chan, the manager of
Chop Chop, a kosher Chinese
restaurant near campus, said
business was down by 50 per-
cent. “The students are like my
family. I pray for them,” Chan
said.
The lawyer’s 14-year-old
daughter is a student at the SAr
Academy and High School, a
Jewish day school in the river-
dale section of the Bronx. The
academy closed Tuesday as a
precautionary measure. The
Westchester Day School and the
Westchester To rah Academy also
temporarily shut down as a pre-
caution, the Jewish Te legraphic
Agency reported.
Health officials ordered Yo ung
Israel of New rochelle, the fami-
ly’s synagogue, to suspend activi-
ties. The officials mandated a
two-week quarantine for anyone
who attended a funeral at the
synagogue on feb. 22 or a bat
mitzvah on feb. 23. About 600
people are affected, according to
the JTA.
“It’s an old-world Jewish com-
munity, because everyone is so
into everyone’s life,” said rabbi
Jeffrey Sirkman of the Larch-
mont Te mple, a synagogue in a
neighboring town. “There’s a real
sense of mutual support and
mutual care. There’s a real sense
of connectedness that is an ex-
tension of their Judaism.”
Sirkman’s synagogue sent a
letter this week urging its 800-
family congregation to take pre-
cautions, including “rubbing el-
bows instead of shaking hands,
etc. to minimize the transmission
of germs.”
“If we hug or hold hands or
kiss a little less,” the letter said,
“it does not mean we don’t care.
on the contrary, with sincerity oftend the same schools, weddings,
bar mitzvahs and funerals.
“People think it’s Armageddon
and they’re never going to leave
their house again,” said Josh
Berkowitz, the owner of Eden
Wok, a kosher Asian fusion res-
taurant in New rochelle. most of
his customers are quarantined to
see if they develop symptoms of
the virus. His employees have
been making deliveries, setting
the food outside without coming
into contact with the people
behind the front door.
“I’m nervous as much as any-
one else,” Berkowitz said. “We
always sanitize and clean. We’re
just being a little more diligent.
Sanitizers are nowhere to be
found. Yo u can’t get them [for]
miles and miles and miles, if
they’re even available.”
As the number of coronavirus
cases reached 11 in New Yo rk,
officials sought to reassure tran-
sit riders that it remains safe to
travel the region’s vast network
of subway and suburban train
lines. There was “no indication”
that “casual contact,” such as
riding a subway with someone
who is sick, is “going to increase
the risk to everyday New York-
ers,” said oxiris Barbot, the city’s
health commissioner.
The State University of New
York and the City University of
New York suspended study-
abroad programs in countries
including China, Italy, Japan and
South Korea on Wednesday as
fears mounted over the virus.
Approximately 300 students, as
well as staff, have been asked to
return from those countries to be
quarantined in “dormlike facili-
ties on SUNY campuses” for 14
days, Cuomo said.
The governor described the
coronavirus as the “flu on ste-
roids” and urged caution.
“We have an epidemic caused
by coronavirus, but we have a
pandemic that is caused by fear,”
he said. “The more you test, the
more positive cases you will find.”
mitchell moss, 71, a New Yo rk
University professor who lives
downtown, said he recently
bought 100 packets of Kleenex as
a result of the virus and wipes
down “every piece of equipment
my hands touch” when he works
out at the gym.
“New Yorkers have terrific re-
sistance because we ride the
subway every day and we’re al-
ways exposed to germs,” moss
said. “If I have to be quarantined,
I’d rather be quarantined in man-
hattan than anywhere else in the
world.”
In Westchester, about 1,
people have self-quarantined, of-
ficials said. The New rochelle
attorney — a 50 year-old man —
remained at NewYo rk-Presbyte-
rian Hospital in manhattan.
Health officials said his condi-
tion prevented him from being
interviewed to determine how he
was exposed to the virus.
His wife is asymptomatic, offi-
cials said, and the couple’s two
children are well enough to be
quarantined with her at home.
The detectives also are moni-
toring seven employees and one
New YorK from A
Schools and synagogues close as
coronavirus spreads in New York
Yeshiva University has canceled classes at its wilf Campus in New
York after a student tested positive for the novel coronavirus.S0141 3x1.sweater or tank top?Stay one step ahead of the weather with theCapital Weather Gangwashingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang • @capitalweather