Telzstone beats back its severe coronavirus outbreak

How exactly did Telzstone go from being a coronavirus epicenter to a beacon for how to deal with the epidemic in such a short period of time?

By JEREMY SHARON
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Two weeks ago, the haredi town of Kiryat Ye’arim, known as Telz-Stone, had the highest rate of coronavirus infections per capita in the country. Almost one-third of its population was under Health Ministry quarantine orders.
Today, although the ultra-Orthodox town’s residents are all confined to their homes, just 100 people are officially quarantined, and only one new case has been reported over the last seven days.
How did Telz-Stone go from being a coronavirus epicenter to a beacon for how to deal with the epidemic in such a short period of time?
A total lockdown, closing all communal buildings and events and an aggressive public-diplomacy campaign stemmed the spread of Covid-19 in Telz-Stone, Mayor Yitzhak Ravitz told The Jerusalem Post.
“We had a very big outbreak,” he said. “We had the highest rate of infections. But thank God, and with God’s help, the outbreak has been stopped”
Events over Purim spurred Ravitz and the local municipality to take drastic action. The steps they took preceded those of the government in the following weeks.
Several people were said to have been exposed to the coronavirus and became infected at festive Purim meals. When he found out about it, Ravitz decided to shut down the town.
Four synagogues were immediately closed after Purim, and prayer services in others were reduced to a maximum of 10 men. Shortly thereafter, the rest of Telz-Stone’s 22 synagogues were closed.
“This was the hardest thing to do,” Ravitz said. “Instead of opening synagogues with joy, I had to close and lock a synagogue with a metal chain. It reminded me of darker times in the history of the Jewish people.”
“But I knew that this was a mitzvah, a religious commandment to ‘greatly protect yourself,’ and knew it had to be done.”
The one supermarket was closed down, and municipal workers and volunteers were asked to take grocery orders over the phone, pick them up and deliver them to homes.
Municipal employees, including Ravitz, engaged in an “aggressive public-diplomacy campaign” in which all households were contacted by phone and the need for the lockdown was explained.
Families in the haredi community are often large but have small homes, which makes prolonged confinement difficult.
In addition, haredi families do not have televisions, and many do not have Internet, limiting entertainment options for children.
The municipality has distributed children’s workbooks to households and has a phone line for listening to entertainment and educational content, Ravitz said.
The municipality intends to distribute DVDs for those with computers and audio CDs with more content to keep children entertained over Passover. Food for Passover and other requirements will also be distributed.
The efforts against the pandemic have cost the Telz-Stone Municipality hundreds of thousands of shekels, Ravitz said, adding that that is the price to be paid to keep residents safe.
No one will be going to their friends or relatives for the Seder, he said.
“We are at war right now against a bitter and cruel enemy, and we need to use all means at our disposal to defeat this foe,” Ravitz said.