YU classes canceled as student tests positive for COVID-19

NEW YORK – On Wednesday morning, Yeshiva University president Ari Berman informed the YU community that a quarantined undergraduate student had tested positive for COVID-19. All classes at the Wilf Campus in Washington Heights were canceled for the day.

Four Jewish day schools have temporarily closed, while 600 congregants and two university students have been required to self-quarantine as a result of the coronavirus.

There have been two reported cases of coronavirus in New York, and one is a Orthodox Jewish attorney in his 50s from suburban Westchester County. One of his sons is an undergraduate student at Yeshiva University who has not been on campus since February 27, the university told students and staff on Tuesday, and at least one of his children attends the Modern Orthodox day school SAR Academy in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

SAR, Westchester Day School and Westchester Torah Academy have all closed temporarily due to possible coronavirus exposure, and Temple Young Israel in New Rochelle, also in Westchester, is being required to halt its services immediately. The state is requiring self-quarantine for congregants and those who have attended recent events at the synagogue.

In Orthodox communities, men are required by Jewish law to pray with a quorum of at least 10 men three times daily, so synagogues typically offer several daily services. (JTA)