CORONAVIRUS
BRITISH JEWRY was this week mourning the loss of at least 22 members of the community who died after contracting coronavirus.
Figures compiled by the Board of Deputies gathered from death notices released by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, the Federation of Synagogues, the United Synagogue, the Joint Jewish Burial Society and Liberal Judaism, confirmed the number of fatalities by Tuesday.
The number of deaths was expected to rise sharply over forthcoming days and weeks as the UK battled to control the epidemic, which had cost 437 lives in this country at the time of going to press on Wednesday.
Prayers were also being said during online synagogue services for hundreds of members of the community either diagnosed with coronavirus or in selfisolation having shown symptoms.
Last Sunday it was confirmed that two members of the strictly Orthodox community, both living at addresses in north-west London, had lost their lives after contracting the virus.
Willi Stern, 85 — a Hungarian-born survivor of Belsen who came to Britain as a refugee — and Rina Feldman, 97, had both been in hospital in north London at the time of their deaths.
“We are aware that two members of the Jewish community sadly lost their lives over the weekend,’’ a statement from the Board of Deputies confirmed.
Mr Stern, who took control of the landlord group Freshwater in the 1960s, was the subject of media coverage when