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Plague on a Biblical Scale: Hasidic Families in New York Area Hit Hard by Covid-19 Epidemic
(New York Times) Liam Stack - In the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park, Shulim Leifer's great-uncle died of the coronavirus. Then his grandmother fell ill, as did two of his cousins. The man who lived next door to his childhood home died on a Tuesday, and by Friday the neighbor on the other side was dead. "There is not a single Hasidic family that has been untouched," said Leifer, 34. "It is a plague on a biblical scale." The coronavirus has hit the Hasidic Jewish community in the New York area with devastating force, killing influential religious leaders and tearing through large families. The city does not track deaths by religion, but Hasidic news media report that 700 members of the community in the New York area have died from Covid-19.