I have nothing but praise for the Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim of Lakewood. They took a bold move and put out strict guidelines for this coming Purim. They cancelled their Purim Mesiba. These decisions were likely painful and hard to make. Yet they did them, and they should be lauded and commended. The Rabbonim of Los Angeles have released a letter calling on out of towners NOT to come and collect there. It was signed by just about every Rov in Los Angeles. What about Flatbush, Boro Park, Williamsburg, Monsey, Five Towns, Chicago, Crown Heights etc etc? Will we hear similar announcements from our leadership? Besides for the sakonas nefashos of even one person getting sick and rachmana litzlan dying, what about the potential Chillul Hashem that will be caused?

A 29-year-old mother in Israel gave birth to a stillborn after contracting the coronavirus, with doctors saying the fetus was confirmed to have contracted the virus and died as a result. This is the first case of a stillborn that was attributed solely to the coronavirus since tests previously performed during the pregnancy showed that the fetus was healthy. The woman, a resident of southern Israel who was 25 weeks pregnant, went to her doctor after noticing a lack of fetal movement. The doctor ordered her to be transferred immediately to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod, where her baby was delivered stillborn. It was the woman’s third pregnancy and tests showed that everything was normal until that point.

Three out of four Republicans want to see former President Trump play a big role in the GOP going forward. That’s the headline from a new Quinnipiac University national poll conducted Thursday through Sunday, during and after the acquittal of Trump in his Senate impeachment trial. Only a fifth of Republicans questioned in the survey said they don’t want the former president to continue to play a dominate role in the party he reshaped and ruled over during his stormy four years in the White House. According to the poll, 87% of Republicans said that Trump should be allowed to hold elected office again. That stands in contrast to the 55% of all respondents in the survey who said the former president should be barred from holding elective office in the future. READ MORE: FOX NEWS

Under fire over his management of the coronavirus’ lethal path through New York’s nursing homes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday the state didn’t cover up deaths but should have moved faster to release some information sought by lawmakers, the public and the press. “All the deaths in the nursing homes and hospitals were always fully, publicly and accurately reported,” the Democratic governor said, weeks after the state was forced to acknowledge that its count of nursing home deaths excluded thousands of residents who perished after being taken to hospitals. He explained the matter Monday as a difference of “categorization,” with the state counting where deaths occurred and others seeking total deaths of nursing home residents, regardless of the location.

The rumors began almost as soon as the disease itself. Claims that a foreign adversary had unleashed a bioweapon emerged at the fringes of Chinese social media the same day China first reported the outbreak of a mysterious virus. “Watch out for Americans!” a Weibo user wrote on Dec. 31, 2019. Today, a year after the World Health Organization warned of an epidemic of COVID-19 misinformation, that conspiracy theory lives on, pushed by Chinese officials eager to cast doubt on the origins of a pandemic that has claimed more than 2 million lives globally. From Beijing and Washington to Moscow and Tehran, political leaders and allied media effectively functioned as superspreaders, using their stature to amplify politically expedient conspiracies already in circulation.

Donald Trump Jr. reacted to former President Trump’s acquittal and media bias during the trial on Fox News’ ‘Hannity’ Monday night. Don Jr. also explained what his father plans to do next politicly. “He’s gonna keep pushing that ‘America First’ agenda, fighting for the American worker,” Trump Jr. said. He’s gonna be pushing for candidates who will do that. Not the random, establishment guys that have sat there for years, done absolutely nothing…” “We are going to continue doing to conservatism what my father has done…Bring it from the dead back into real life.” Watch the full interview below. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Rockets struck outside an airport near where U.S. forces are based in northern Iraq late Monday, killing one U.S.-led coalition contractor and wounding at least eight other people, Iraqi security and coalition officials said, sparking fears of new hostilities. At least three rockets hit areas between the civilian Irbil international airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region and the nearby base hosting U.S. troops at 9:30 p.m. No one immediately claimed responsibility. One civilian contractor with the coalition was killed and five others wounded, coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. Wayne Marotto said. One U.S. service member was wounded, he said. He did not reveal the nationality of the dead contractor and said this was under investigation.

Israel’s Health Ministry is considering vaccinating those who have already recovered from the coronavirus, contrary to the existing policy, Channel 12 News reported. At least 861 Israelis contracted a second case of the coronavirus three or more months after recovering from the first case, recent data shows. Health Ministry officials believe that coronavirus carriers who are asymptomatic or only develop light symptoms may not develop long-term immunity. Additionally, it’s possible that being infected with one virus variant does not provide full protection from other variants. An Israeli who recovered from the coronavirus in August was reinfected with the South African variant last month but fortunately is asymptomatic.

Israel’s Health Ministry instructed hospitals this week to prepare for an increase in pediatric coronavirus cases ahead of the reopening of the educational system. “In the coming months, we are expecting to see a rise in infections in children of all ages in Israel due to the end of the lockdown, the opening of the educational system, and the fact that children cannot be vaccinated,” the Health Ministry stated. “In addition, evidence is accumulating of higher infection rates in children due to the British variant.” “The pediatric hospitalization system must be prepared for this challenge by preparing beds for at least four coronavirus patients on the regular pediatric wards.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Blue and White leader and Defense Minister Benny Gantz proposed an amendment on Monday to approve civil marriage in Israel, in a move viewed as an effort to boost his popularity five weeks before the March 23 elections, with polls showing Blue and White failing to cross the electoral threshold. Gantz, who is currently also serving as justice minister, has received the approval of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for the amendment. Although the bill is meant to ease difficulties during the pandemic for couples who normally must fly abroad to get married, the change to Israel’s marriage registry system would be permanent. If approved, the bill would grant state approval to marriages of same-sex and interfaith couples.