Vizhnitzer yeshivah bochurim received a message on Wednesday morning from the Rebbe’s shamash to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. “I spoke to the Rebbe regarding vaccinations for the yeshivah bochurim,” stated a special message from the shamash Rav Shaul Greenberger. “The Rebbe expressed his opinion that the bochurim be vaccinated, that this is the ‘tzav ha’shaah’ of the fulfillment of mitzvas ‘v’nishmartem meod l’nafshoseichim’ – that one shouldn’t be harmed or harm others.” It should be noted that with the start of Israel’s vaccination campaign, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe instructed his chassidim to be vaccinated, which he said is a “chov kadosh.” The new instruction on Wednesday was directed at the younger bochurim.

Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Tuesday that he’s extremely concerned that Purim could lead to a new coronavirus outbreak in the Chareidi sector. Ash, in an online press briefing, said that although the infection rate in Chareidi communities has been declining, it is still very high, with tests showing an almost 20% positivity rate, more than double than that of the general population. Ash added that 90% of Chareidim diagnosed with the coronavirus are carrying the British variant. “We’re nearing the month of Adar but this year we need to rejoice differently while preserving kedushas haChaim,” Ash said. “We recall with great pain what happened last Purim and the most recent outbreak in the Chareidi sector is the result of gatherings on Chanukah.

Anyone arriving in England and found to have lied about a recent visit to a country on the British government’s travel ban list faces up to 10 years in prison under new tough coronavirus border policies announced Tuesday. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that from Monday, residents of the U.K. and Ireland arriving in England from the places on the government’s “red list” will have to purchase a “quarantine package” that costs 1,750 pounds ($2,400) per person and covers accommodation, virus testing and other items. Individuals not abiding by the rules, including those arriving from a red list country without a hotel booked, also could be subject to a series of fines, he said.

Avraham Bodman, z’l, of the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem, passed away on Wednesday at Shaarei Tzedek hospital at the young age of 36 due to complications of the coronavirus, sadly before he merited to marry and raise a family. The niftar’s friends from his shul claim that his death could have been avoided, placing the blame on the spreaders of “fake news” regarding the vaccine against COVID-19. “With great sorrow, we inform you of the death of our dear friend due to complications of the coronavirus, Avraham, z’l, who greeted everyone cheerfully despite his difficult life, and frequented the beis medrash,” an email to the mispallelim of the Mishkan Shraga shul stated.

A World Health Organization team is leaving China on Wednesday after gaining some new insights into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic that has now killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide — but with the major questions still unanswered. The visit was politically sensitive for China — which is concerned about any allegations it didn’t handle the initial outbreak properly — and has been closely watched around the world. Team member Peter Daszak sounded an upbeat note on arriving at the airport at the end of the four-week trip to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 cases were detected in December 2019. “We have clear leads on what the next steps should be,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that starting next week any nonessential traveler arriving in Canada by land will need to show a negative PCR-based COVID-19 test or face a fine if they don’t have one. Trudeau said customs officers can’t send Canadians back to the U.S. if they don’t have a test because they are technically on Canadian soil but said the fine will be up to $3,000 Canadian (US$2,370) and the traveler will be subject to extensive follow up by health officials if they don’t show a negative test. So-called snowbirds who reside in warm U.S. states part-time are included in the COVID-19 test requirement. The land border already remains closed to nonessential travelers who are not Canadian.

A high-level Greek delegation led by the Greek prime minister, foreign minister and tourism minister arrived in Israel on Monday and signed a deal creating a travel corridor for vaccinated tourists between the two countries. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the two leaders subsequently announced they had signed a “green passport” travel agreement at a joint press conference. Netanyahu said that the agreement allows tourism “without any limitations, no self-isolation, nothing.” Israel is also in discussions with the UK and Estonia on establishing a travel corridor between their countries for vaccinated tourists, Army Radio reported on Monday.

Another Israeli mother was attached to an ECMO machine overnight Monday at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. The 40-year-old woman was hospitalized about ten days ago after she contracted the coronavirus in her 28th week of pregnancy. On Monday, she suffered a deterioration in her condition and was sedated and ventilated. Unfortunately, a few hours later her condition deteriorated further and the doctors made a decision to deliver her baby by emergency C-section and attached her to an ECMO machine. “Due to her early stage of pregnancy, we tried to wait as long as possible before delivering the baby,” said Dr. Ilya Kagan, the director of the coronavirus intensive care unit.

South Africa is considering giving a COVID-19 vaccine that is still in the testing phase to health workers, after suspending the rollout of another shot that preliminary data indicated may be only minimally effective against the mutated form of the virus dominating the country. The country was scrambling Monday to come up with a new vaccination strategy after it halted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine — which is cheaper and easier to handle than some others and which many had hoped would be crucial to combatting the pandemic in developing countries.

An Israeli hospital director told Army Radio on Monday that a quarter of his current coronavirus patients are under the age of 50. Dr. Masad Barhoum, head of the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, warned of a fourth wave of the virus, saying that an extension of a hermetic nationwide lockdown for another two weeks is essential. “Most of the patients have the British variant. The fear in reopening schools is the infection rate and illness in children and young people,” Barhoum said, adding that younger people are dismissing the true risk of the virus and are not getting vaccinated. “This population doesn’t want to get vaccinated,” Barhoum lamented. “Furthermore, the public is burned out after five weeks of a partial-lockdown.