Orthodox Jews gather in NYC to oppose coronavirus restrictions
For a second day in a row, hundreds of Orthodox Jewish men hit the streets of Brooklyn to protest new lockdown measures
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged individuals protesting lockdown measures in Orthodox Jewish communities to remain peaceful, as the state and city look to swiftly prevent a larger coronavirus outbreak.
De Blasio said during a press conference this week that the measures were put into effect to “save lives,” and he understood that people would disagree with the plan – but that they still needed to respect it, as well as local law enforcement.
“People have and will protest, and we understand that there is a place for peaceful protest, but the NYPD will not tolerate people doing harm to others,” de Blasio said. “There'll be no tolerance for assaults, for damage to property, for setting fires – anything like that is unacceptable.”
The New York City Mayor added that people who don’t follow instructions from the New York Police Department will face “consequences.”
ORTHODOX JEWISH PROTESTERS BLAST CUOMO, DE BLASIO OVER NEW CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS
To address clusters of outbreaks in some zip codes surrounding Manhattan, Cuomo announced new restrictions this week in areas that have large Orthodox Jewish populations. The measures, in some cases, require schools and nonessential businesses to shutter once again. They also restrict religious gatherings and attendance at houses of worship.
The outrage within the Orthodox Jewish community was immediate. As previously reported by Fox News, protesters took to the streets and burned masks and clashed with police, while condemning rhetoric used, and actions taken, by de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
On Wednesday, a Jewish reporter was attacked.
NYC ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITY PROTESTS NEW STATE-MANDATED CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWNS
Cuomo said on Thursday that areas where there have been recent outbreaks, including parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Rockland and Orange Counties – recorded a 5.8% positivity rate on Wednesday.
The positivity rate for the remainder of the state, excluding the affected ZIP codes, is around 1%.
Around 11,600 people in New York City have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since Sept. 1, compared with less than 7,400 in August.
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Fox News’ Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report.
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