Restrictions reduced on Brooklyn Jewish neighbourhoods as Covid rates drop
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement after Brooklyn 'made great progress and we reduced the red zone by 50 percent'
Parts of Brooklyn that had high COVID test positivity rates in early October, including some with large Orthodox Jewish communities, will face fewer restrictions after seeing the rates fall.
The neighbourhoods labeled “red zones” last month have been reduced to “orange,” the middle level for restrictions. One of the neighbourhoods is Midwood, which has a sizeable Orthodox population.
“Brooklyn has made great progress and we reduced the red zone by 50% last week based on the progress,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a news conference Monday.
While the orange designation will allow some nonessential businesses to reopen, schools remain closed. Religious services are restricted to 33% capacity, up from 25%, with a maximum attendance of 25 people, and mass gatherings can have 10 people at most. High-risk nonessential businesses like gyms and salons remain closed.
Restrictions on the Brooklyn neighbourhoods were a source of tension last month as local Orthodox Jews protested the new rules, which kept public and private schools as well as nonessential businesses closed. The easing of the limits comes as cases continue to rise across New York City and state. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday morning that the city recorded 779 new daily cases and Cuomo announced a statewide COVID test positivity rate of 2.8%.
If the seven-day average positivity rate in New York City goes above 3%, the city’s public schools will automatically close. The seven-day rolling average rate hit 2.21% on Monday.
Last week, all restrictions were removed from Far Rockaway, a neighbourhood in the borough of Queens with a large Orthodox Jewish community, after the positivity rate there remained in the 1-2% range. The Brooklyn neighbourhood of Borough Park was taken out of the red zone last week.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
