Doctors Cohen and Lempel submitted today the following letter to TLS:
As we began our internal medicine practice in Lakewood in January 1986, we made a verbal commitment to Rabbi Shmuel Blech to service and provide the highest quality medical care to the greater Lakewood community. In accordance with this mission, we must now publicly express our viewpoint regarding the developing reemergence of Covid infections in our community.
Until this point, we have allowed other physicians to speak publicly, but they have voiced concern for asserting the appropriate message due to fear of “backlash from the community”. We, however, fear backlash from the Ribono Shel Olam if we don’t clearly proclaim our viewpoint and reduce illness & perhaps death.
All adults and children, who can, should wear masks-whether or not they have had Covid infections in the past-at all times when indoors and when outdoors in groups. Social distancing of 6 feet or more should be religiously upheld. Senior citizens and those with comorbidities and immunosuppression should avoid contact with anyone who does not observe these restrictions.
It is imperative that anyone with symptoms of sore throat, cough, fever, or fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, or loss of smell or taste should immediately quarantine and contact their physician.
Addendum from Dr. Shanik:
I want to stress the importance of:
– Avoiding social gatherings
– Maintaining social distancing
– Using masks in public settings ie: shopping, school, shul…
We must do whatever we can to stop the spread of Corona virus in our community.
Everyone has so much to say about coronavirus. What about safe driving?
Do all those who “fear backlash from the Ribono Shel Olam”, how many doses of life-saving HCQ did you prescribe?
I rest my case.
*To
Coronavirus might kill or at least hurt people. Yes, so might driving. But if you accidentally hit someone with your car, you will 100% drive more safely from that point on. No one even ha to tell you. If you accidentally get someone sick, you will never ever know.
(“Oh, he’s sick?! I only ever saw him once in my life. How do you even know it was my car that did it? Wait, he’s just in a bed for a week?! Then it’s okay; he didn’t die. Why are you even bothering me?!”)
Finally.
Daas Torah speaks through the physicians.
Remember when we were so careful about safek pikuach nefesh?
Who knows if maybe Hashem is giving us another chance to show RESPECT for others.
And hopefully moshiach is the next news item!
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Thank you! Thank you!
Scary times..praying we never see anything like March again. Thank you to those out the forefront of getting this message out. Stay safe everyone!
Thank you so much for the direction and leadership.We will all thank you in this world and the next world.
Please please PLEASE everyone listen to the doctors! the Yamim Nora’im are approaching in a few weeks and we can’t be looking at davening Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur B’yichidus. Please please do your part in keeping to social distancing and wearing masks outside of your house. and most importantly, if you have any symptoms PLEASE stay home!
wishing everyone a safe and health new year!
I assume this letter is because of an uptick in numbers in the community and upcoming yomim tovim with travel and visiting. Taking temperature at the entrance is not enough. I don’t think anyone thinks so. These doctors are trying to help us avoid another catastrophe. And for those who think they’re immune because they had it and had antibodies it hasn’t been proven how long antibodies last.
Can we please have a letter that addresses the proper precautions schools should be taking?
Why is there backlash from the community, we would hope we can trust our doctors to be truthful with current information and not hide away from backlash.
How can we live safely when information is being hidden from the public, is that fair to those living here very much appreciate accurate information so they can make better call and judgement for themselves.
Thank you for the current update!
So everyone was braking most of these guidelines in one way or another over the past 2+ month and we did not have major spikes, obviously these is serious herd immunity brewing in Lakewood.
So can someone please explain to us what changed now? Schools opening? Summer is over? Tons new cases?
If you don’t explain it clearly – no-one (I mean 99.99%) will pay any attention to this!!!
Maybe immunity does not last forever have you considered that at all?
In Response To @whisteblower
you are correct there there may be some level of herd immunity. However what sparked this letter, was that there were many weeks (months?) in Lakewood where there were 0 cases. In the last 2 weeks or so there were 20 new cases one week and then 50 or so new cases last week. Seeing these rising numbers is concerning and we hope and daven a quick response will help B’ezras Hashem. But everyone needs to comply
Herd immunity just means with so many people in your circles immune to it, the probability of it spreading is much lower. Because we don’t know what other causes of immunity are out there, it is hard to gauge as to how many need to get it to substantially lower the probabilities.
One of the things we are seeing is that there were many people who were exposed after purim and did not get it then. We thought maybe they had some natural immunity but we see they are getting it now.
Anyway we can get a copy of the actual signed letter by the three oldest doctors of Lakewood
Thank you for having the courage to speak through the noise with clarity. May all the berachos of Oskim Bitzarchei Tzibbur come true for both of you.
Fatigue & headaches are too vague a symptom to just quarantine for 10 days. Most people are chronically exhausted from the lifestyle we lead.
I still wear masks & do temperature testing on my students. My family did not catch corona during the spring so we are more vigilant but staying home indefinitely is not an option.
We need majority of the town to agree on guidelines though most people are “done”.
Thank you for looking out for our physical well being.
I agree with Worried. Can we have clear guidelines? If I stuck to this symptom list, between allergies, fatigue, and headaches, I would’ve been quarantined from March till now and till who knows when. Often the symptoms will barely last for 24 hours in which case I’m not calling a doctor.
We can not rely on the government to make decisions for us!! back in March they did not come forward, people relied on the government and did nothing to prevent and catch it on time etc…b’derech hatevah resulting r”l in so many choilim…The government has so many ulterior motives, and economy etc. They also don’t value older peoples lives etc..We can not rely on their decisions!! We need our own leaders and doctors to be there for the Klal!! Thank you
To comment # 1. How about no driving? That would be safest.
Have a blessed 5781. Bore’ Olam should help us all.
Genuine question – is anyone going to do anything differently than they were doing before after reading this letter ?
Not really, unless we see or hear about a major spike.
And once again the fear mongering starts. There was 343 deaths this year in NJ due to car crashes. Should we all stop driving????
20 corona cases in Lakewood (if that much) is NOT a reason to make the whole town meshuga!!
Thank you for some sanity.
One of the other “frum” news sites today published fake news articles supposedly quoting CDC statistics playing down the Covid-19 death rate. That also published a long wacky letter putting forth that the hold Covid-19 plague is a fake and some type of conspiracy.
So I say thanks for this breath of fresh air.
Saying that 94% of the deaths were not really Covid deaths because people had other issues is ridiculous. Not every asthmatic would have died had there not been the pandemic. Many seniors could have gone on to leave otherwise healthy, productive lives for many more years.
It’s up to all of us to share the responsibility and do our part, even when it’s not convenient or comfortable.
Can the doctors tell us the comparison of the death rate from covid to the death rate from the flu?
We all know that unfortunately many covid patients died from inappropriate medical interventions and putting covid patients into nursing homes. We also know that many deaths that were labeled covid at the beginning of this were not actually from covid.
So considering a lot has been learned since the initial stages of this illness, and that people are more scrupulent (I hope) to only label true covid deaths as covid deaths, I would like to know if the current death rate warrants all the fear that we are being told to have.
I would also like to ask the doctors what they think are the psychological ramifications on children who are living through this? Will they become germ-phobic? Will they think if they test positive they are going to die or cause the death of those around them? Will they be afraid to have any human contact with people other than their immediate family members. Is anyone factoring these concerns into the mix? …Which makes it more imperative to determine what is the death rate compared to the flu.
And some doctors believe there is a cure – namely hydroxy, with zinc and azithromycin. All studies that showed it did not work or was harmful either gave lethal doses of the hydroxy, did not give the zinc, or used it too late in the illness. Again, considering the psychological consequences involved, are all doctors studying the studies to see if this is a good cure as hundreds of doctors already feel it is?
I’ve had too many people that I personally knew die this year to make me think that it’s not real.
Many dies probably due to errors that aren’t made during a regular flu season. Why? Because of so many very sick patients you don’t see from a normal flu. Dealing with the children is indeed a problem that needs to be dealt with, bu tnot in a panicky mode.
yes drs are afraid to say anything. Backlash, Chozek, “no one will listen”, (which one key dr i personally spoke to days ago told me was the reason when i asked why Lakewood did not issues a letter – yet Bobov, Boro Park and Monsey Hatzola did.
“Their not daas torah” that what i was told and actually a person from out of town called me in March- who is in prestigious position screaming at me how i can post what the drs were saying. Dass Torah will decide.
Interesting when i asked my Rav and Mora Dasra (a talmid of Harav Ahron )what to do- and even later asked him what does the Rav do to decide- his response was he follows the guidelines of the Drs regarding social distancing. When my shever was sick with covid and we called 2 big poskim in regards to decide to do a medical procedure- both stated we cant answer-that is a medical question. This is all a medical question and after we have gone through its no simply a sofek pikuach nefoshos.
Unfortunately many make it difficult for the youth to even want to wear masks and the social norm is not to unless at a store.
I would like to see any proof that masks and social distancing in the general population actually reduce the transmission of this disease. Were any studies done? Where did the doctors get their information from?
Social distancing is just common sense – if a person is too far to cough or sneeze on you they won’t be able to transmit germs
yes, but I wonder why there is no mention of hand-washing which is a proven method of reducing infection.
To whistleblower
Great comment. And until we get an answer to that question an answer that makes sense then anything these guys say won’t be listened to. And so the question begs. Are they afraid of the ribono shel olam as claimed or are they afraid of the CDC???? And if they don’t feel a need to explain themselves on this question then they lose all credibility
NO! FLAT OUT NO !!
I will not wear a mask or do any of this. At this point we know who is vulnerable and it is people who are either elderly or have health issues.
Just yesterday the CDC declared that only 6% of covid deaths were from covid. Yes, you read that right. Six percent ! The rest died from other causes. In other words covid only hastened their death. SO LET ALL SUCH PEOPLE LOCK THEMSELVES, MASK THEMSELVES AND LEAVE EVERYONE ELSE ALONE !!!!
This idea that everyone must do this to protect others dosn’t get more convoluted.
Also, the thing basically ended. Yes, there is an uptick but most of that was traced to out of towners coming to weddings, but there was no community spread. The “urgent notice” is fear mongering. Disgusting.
I could just see all the comments to follow, “are you a doctor ??” . Well if there is one thing we learnt is that as far as epidemics, doctors know about as much as the layman; they are clueless.
And masks are just a joke. Why were they not recommended in March, only in June ? Because they never were a thing. There is no science or even hypothesis to back it up.
We had enough of being dictated to by clueless doctors and askonim to turn our lives upside down for no good reason. We will live our lives and let everyone else just watch out for themselves
With all due respect, Shmuel, you’re either a complete moron or just don’t know how to read. That’s not what the CDC said at all. They said the people who died had other issues as well, such as elevated blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, etc. Of course COVID is what killed them.
Are you aware that more than 60% of households have one or more members that fit that description? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that just because my 41 year old brother has asthma he deserves to die.
What a sick, sick, selfish person you must be.
That’s not what the CDC said. They said that most patients didn’t have COVID alone listed as cause of death- they also had things like pneumonia, respiratory distress, and renal failure listed.
Here’s a tough one: What disease causes pneumonia, respiratory distress, and renal failure? Ding ding ding.. you got it! It’s COVID-19!
If you knew how to read, you’d realize that the CDC said nothing close to what you think it said. But you’re just a sheeple who believes everything the nutjobs on the far right tell you. Keep your head buried in the sand, it’ll help us more than a mask.
I assume you are Jewish based on your username. I stopped reading your frivolous drivel after “In other words covid only hastened their death”. Do you have any idea how much even one extra second of life is worth? You don’t seem very educated and certainly not educated in end of life matters. You should not be commenting on this board as someone with the same lack of intelligence as you may actually believe the nonsense you wrote.
I truly feel bad for your family and loved ones. I hope you are not the decision maker on any health based issues.
The recent uptick is alot more secere than what the posters here think it is. According to someone who recently got tested at a local Urgent Care Facility, they are now seeing 50 positive Covid results per DAY in our area.
This is not a joke and it’s far from over.
Shana Tovah.
To the smartAlex who keeps on talking about car crashes. Over 70 yidden were nifter here in March,
0 from car crashes ( actually for long time before that) . So in Lakewood Covid is 70 times more dangerous than car crashes, & if you take the last year into account it’s 700 times more deadly!
Next?
Yaakov
And how many yidden were niftar here from covid during may, june, july and august?
Your math is a little off. 70 * 0 is not 70. The distance between 0 and 70 is actually infinity So death from covid19 is infinitively more likely than death from a car crash.
Do you believe the tests? One day 77 athletes on a team tested positive. The next day they tested negative. How is that possible? Maybe the tests are not true readings?
Why aren’t the rabbanim enforcing masks in shul?
You have allowed? Wow!
Interesting how this letter got printed. #1. how do we know it is true
#2 I see many prominent lkwd doctors unmasked in shul. explain that…
To the conspiracy theorists above;
I don’t believe in conspiracies not because they can’t be true but because 99% of the time they aren’t.
I would rather be wrong 1% of the time than play your odds. So the next time you hear an inventive version of the truth please remember the 99 – 1 rule and save yourself a trip to the moon.
FYI just because deep state actors, like Dr Fauci, and their accomplices in media call something a “conspiracy theory” that does not make it such.
There is definitely a spike in Lakewood. There are many new cases and we have to be smart and careful. Stay safe everyone
Shmuel is right and all of you do not understand his point. We know who is vulnerable and it’s people with conditions. In that case *they* should take all precautions but let the healthy live regular. Instead the doctors want *everyone* to wear masks . It really makes no sense. In Florifa this is the approach and its working very well.
We need to keep our schools open. It’s Pikuach Nefashos! So, stop the spread!
The official recommendations? An experiment. (E.g. What do cotton masks do?!? Does social distancing help with an AC blowing!??) So why make people crazy? They won’t listen to extreme measures that may not help.
What should we do instead of the official recommendations?
1. Daven!
2. Protect the vulnerable. He didn’t get it yet? Either (a) stay home or (b) go out wearing *both* a face shield AND a surgical mask.
Visitors should wear surgical masks. It protects others well (that’s why surgeons use them!). People have not caught it when wearing wore both a surgical mask and a face shield.
3. Don’t be a spreader. Exposed to someone sick within the past few days? Get tested or stay home!!!
4. Stop super spreader events. Too many weddings have spread Covid. It brings together people from all over (chances are someone was exposed) and spreads it very effectively by eating, dancing, and shmoozing together. Make your wedding safer; make it outdoors!
5. Eat the school meals in the classrooms. (To minimize the number of people exposed to each other)
6. Stagger recess times.
Save lives! Our schools must stay open!
May we have a Kesiva Vechasima Tova
FYI, many people are getting a second bout of Covid. They feel mostly fine and only have mild syptoms. Just keep that in mind- if you aren’t feeling great, keep your distance!
Most of us are don’t have the facts the doctors are privy to.
Can we have some real numbers from the Corona-tracker Chemed launched back in March with the local doctors?
I can’t understand any of the resistance to wearing a mask and keeping some distance. Every shlemazel comes up with boich svaras how THEY know what’s going on, and this is torture, the doctors don’t know anything, and only the top 3% of the third quarter percent of the 10% who have comorbidities got sick and even then it was because the hydroxychloroquine wasn’t given with the zinc, or the Zithromax, or the Rebbes Mikva water, or acupuncture …blah blah blah.
Yet……
These same people have no problem with rigorously adhering to filtering water or putting their lettuce in their Maytag washer and dryer, or never eating a whole strawberry DESPITE the relatively low percentage of finding (and then consuming after a regular washing) a whole, practically microscopic bug. Soooooo careful about the bug……sooooooo careless about another human being. You think there won’t be a din v’cheshbon on you if you flout the KNOWN risks and accidentally kill someone?? There is so much stupid and fakery here is astonishing!!
To answer your tough question… The bug is for themselves whether the protection is for yenem…
What’s the big deal to just wear a mask in stores and in crowded places? Are we so spoilt that we can’t handle a little discomfort? Even if it won’t save a life, if that’s what our doctors are telling us to do then just do it!
If you neighbor asked you for a ride to a place you are going anyway, would you turn him down because the heavier load in your car will burn more gas? If there was a Tzedokah collection on your block for hachnosas kallah, would you give say that you won’t give even a dollar because that will be one dollar less to spend on your vacation?
Whatever your opinion on mask wearing, think of it as a chesed to those who are vulnerable. Even on the small chance that it can help stop the spread, it is worthwhile to do. Even if it puts one person’s mind at ease, it is worthwhile to do. Don’t wear the mask for yourself, wear it for you neighbor. It is a chesed just like any other. For most people, it is not a major deal. A lot of the comments I see show that people who chose not to wear masks, do so on principle (i.e. NO ONE is going to tell ME what I have to do), not due to health concerns. Those who find wearing a mask difficult due to health concerns (asthma, etc.) should think about going out in the first place as the underlying health condition puts them in the vulnerable category.
Just think of it as a Chesed.
Covid was not an issue during the summer because there were zero cases, at the end of the summer there were lots of traveling back home from sleep away camps, israel, vacation, etc. a few cases multiply and multiply into thousands. back in march we started with just a few known cases, now we have hundreds and people convince themselves its no big deal because they would rather not infringe on their quality of life for a few more weeks, rather than heading the advice of doctors, rabbis, and specialist in this field. This is just seeking instand gratification. Let me tell you Covid will impact your quality of life way more if it spreads. So please keep a distance and wear a mask (or a face shield reported to be more comfortable). Long live the yiden, and long live torah study.
All I have to say is the amount of nonsense that is being said under these comments. First of all, the amount of cases in lakewood has spiked in the last few weeks. The amount of calls every doctor office gets is unimaginable. And you want to know who makes those calls those who are saying not to wear a mask. And for those who are naive let me tell u something i know plenty of ppl with no medical issues who ended up on a vent. So do Lakewood a favor wear a mask. This is not a political issue. The problem is that most of the ppl think who are you to tell me what to do. Shame on you ! These amazing drs. are speaking the truth. Also, fun fact those who had covid immunity doesn’t last. So wake up and stop being selfish and foolish.
Not only can and does covid reinfection occur, but in the case recently reported from Nevada, the patient was much sicker the second time around compared with the initial episode. Multiple other similar reports are starting to trickle in. Are you listening, all you herd immunity experts out there?
Lakewood Scoop. Please can you share a copy of this letter to the board of education members? Maybe they need reevaluate the plans to reopen schools safe for students staff and teacher.
Social distancing rules apparently don’t apply to radical left wing rioters, excuse me, “peaceful protesters” around the country. But let’s scapegoat Orthodox Jews.
I have two responses to Laura’s comment:
1. A very large multicenter study just released by Lazer et al shows that the danger is much greater indoors (i.e.shuls, weddings) compared with outdoors (i.e. rallies, picnics, beaches). There is no basis for comparison between outdoor protests and reckless indoor events within our community.
2. This matter has zero to do with scapegoating Jew, it is concerned SOLELY with ensuring the health of our community. Are you so blind that you automatically invoke discrimination even when it doesn’t apply?
This letter is very strange. It does not give any reason what recently happened that prompted it. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as they know more about medicine than me perhaps but just to state things that goes counter to what every sees on the streets as fact and not give any explanation is unacceptable in my opinion. I am frankly shocked that no details are in here at all. All it had to say was something i.e. like “in the last week there were seven people that had to be hospitalized due to covid” or anything of that nature and I would have listened. But only silence.
I think it’s poshut why they came out with this letter davka now. ELUL came, and the morning shofar rattled their conscience. The letter states b’feirush that they are writing the letter because they fear the Riboinoi shel Oilom more than they fear “community backlash”, which sounds like a coded reference to a threat that they don’t want to identify.
I believe, Biezrat Hashem, it’s the sounding of the shofar that’s going to eradicate this dreadful Caronavirus. A mazeldig 5781 to Klal Yisrael. Hashem should protect us all.
If you’re correct and the sound of the shofar will end the plague, why wait another two weeks? Start blowing now, and don’t stop, not for even one second, until the virus is completely gone! IY”H you should be zoiche to win the Nobel prize for saving humanity.
Seriously. Very few have apparently done their research. Real research. Like not using google search engine (controlled by the left). The whole 6 ft thing is made up number. The whole mask thing makes it worse. (As fauci disagreed with wearing masks in March). Doctors who don’t utilize HCQ have serous blood on their hand. As does the CDC and the Democrats trying to make this drug illegal. It doesn’t end.Do your research folks. And realize you e been played.
These doctors are well respected, caring, yeriei shomayim. They are not part of any Democratic scheme. Why not take what they say to heart? Either you will have taken a few unnecessary precautions or you may end up saving lives. Why not do it?
I am not afraid of Coronavirus. I fear Hashem. Hashem, who weighs our mitzvos and aveiros and decides whether to punish and how much. Hashem, who created this opportunity to see whether I’m taking whatever steps I could to maybe protect the people around me from suffering, even if I’m not 100% sure it’s necessary and even though some of the people around me — some of the very same people I might be protecting — are degrading me for it. Or if he’ll decide that even though I was doing okay until now, but when it came down to it I hid behind excuses and arguments. I hope to pass this nisayon.