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Epidemics Expert: Jewish Institutions Should Cancel Everything
(JTA) Dr. Gary Slutkin - I am an infectious disease epidemiologist who worked at the World Health Organization on epidemics in 25 countries. I prize the Jewish teaching that places the saving of a life above all other laws and practices. As a result of the emergence of the coronavirus, we need to suspend our usual religious services and social gatherings. As an epidemiologist, I know that these recommendations will save lives These changes are necessary and urgent to avoid preventable deaths, no matter whether we live in an area where there is a known case of COVID-19 or not. As we learn more, we will be better able to make more localized and informed decisions about when and how to attempt to get back to normal, but now is the time to stop any possible potential for getting infected yourself or for unknowingly infecting others. Epidemics follow a curve up and then back down, and eventually they end. It is up to us to stop the spread now - and to keep the curve of infections and deaths as small and short as possible.