The following is an op-ed co-written by rabbi Chaim David Zwiebel and Avi Schick in the NY Daily News: Yesterday, Jews across the world observed Yom Kippur. It was a day filled with prayer, introspection and commitment to improve. On more than a half-dozen occasions, we asked God to suppress plague and disease . . .  Anyone who ministers to a congregation knows that too often there is a disconnect between what we pray for and our behavior. We sincerely seek the end of the virus, but we are not yet doing all that we can to make that happen. Dr. Anthony Fauci and other public health experts have pointed to wearing a mask as the single most important step one can take to prevent the spread of the virus.

New York City will impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face covering as the rate of positive tests for the novel coronavirus climbed above 3% for the first time in months, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday. Officials will first offer free masks to those caught not wearing one. If the person refuses, they will face an unspecified fine, de Blasio told reporters. “Our goal, of course, is to give everyone a free face mask,” de Blasio said. “We don’t want to fine people, but if we have to we will.” The new rule extends across the city a similar policy imposed earlier this month by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, controlled by New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, in which commuters who refuse to wear a mask on public transit face a $50 fine.

At Tuesday’s press conference with Mayor DeBlasio, Dr Mitchell Katz of the NYC Health Department made note of how they are reaching all segments of the Jewish community to wear a mask and properly social distance. Katz mentioned that “one of the colleagues we have been working with sent us a photo of the ‘Bubobovich’ wearing a mask with his shTeimel, and that picture had gone viral all over the city…..” Katz was referring to a viral photo (attached to this story) of the Bobov-45 Rebbe, HaRav Mordchei Dovid Unger Shlita, that was taken on Erev Yom Kippur. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The attached video speaks for itself. A Boro Park resident filmed a news crew on Tuesday afternoon that was deliberately looking for the 1% of people seen walking on the street without a mask. Additionally, the news camera did not bother filming a non-Jew without a mask. News crews have literally flooded Jewish communities around New York City on Tuesday, literally desperate to catch a person without a mask. While YWN in no way condones people not wearing masks, it begs the question why the media never sent the number of news crews currently in Flatbush and Boro Park to any other neighborhood where hundreds of thousands are walking freely without a mask. We know the answer. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

COVID-19 cases continue to grow at an alarming rate in eight neighborhoods in the city, outpacing the citywide average by 3.7 times over the past 14 days. Six of the 8 neighborhoods saw increases even from the prior day’s report, based on our preliminary data. These areas account for over 25% of new cases citywide over the past two weeks despite representing just under 7% of the city’s overall population. The data below is based on a 14-day average, which can more accurately reflect sustained trends than data pulled from a single day.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of R’ Moshe Harari Z”L of Lakewood. He was 46. Sources tell YWN that he was Niftar from complications from COVID-19. He was taken to the hospital on Erev Yom Tov, and was Niftar on Yom Kippur. R’ Moshe Z”L is the son of Chacham Eliezer, a prominent Rav in Flatbush. He leaves behind his wife and two children. The Levaya is scheduled to take place 11:30 AM at the 7th Street Chapel in Lakewood, with Kevurah in Lakewood. Meanwhile, there were around twenty Lakewood residents hospitalized in the past few days, it what is clearly a “second wave”. Baruch Dayan Ha’emes. YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be dded to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (With reporting by TLS)

The lawyer representing a man accused of conspiring with associates of Rudy Giuliani to make illegal campaign contributions has asked a judge to let him quit the case, in part because his client hasn’t paid his legal bills. David Correia is among four men charged last year with using straw donors to make illegal contributions to politicians they thought could help their political and business interests. He also faces a fraud charge. Two other men charged in the case, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, worked with Giuliani to try and get Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of Democrat Joe Biden.

The disastrous press conference we all saw on Friday in Boro Park, is indicative of the entire fiasco that is Mayor DeBlasio and the NYC Health Department. The Mayor’s office continued lack of real and meaningful engagement with community leaders, and the glaring absence of those recognized leaders at Friday’s disastrous press conference, allows disgruntled self-anointed malcontents to misrepresent themselves as the voice of the community. Make no mistake, Friday’s embarrassing actions – which turned into headline stories on every single NYC news outlet (see videos below) – are the direct result of the Mayors office pretending to work with community leaders — but actually ignoring them!

Three men from Orthodox Jewish communities who were admitted to Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center over the past four days died within hours of arriving at the Borough Park facility, the New York Post reported Friday night, citing sources. Their deaths come as the NYC Department of Health earlier this week identified Borough Park, as well as other Brooklyn neighborhoods, as those experiencing upticks in COVID-19 cases. Aside from Maimonides, the Mount Sinai hospital system, including Mount Sinai Brooklyn in Midwood, has had an increase in cases, as well. The health department has also identified Midwood as an area increasing an increase in cases. According to the Post, the men who died were not senior citizens — a demographic which is particularly susceptible.

The NYC Health Department provided the following update to YWN on Motzei Shabbos: We are writing to provide another update concerning COVID-19 case growth in Brooklyn and Queens. As of today, the percent of tests returning positive results in areas of concern are as follows. Gravesend/Homecrest (6.73%) Midwood (5.22%) Kew Gardens (3.53%) Edgemere/Far Rockaway (4.03%) Borough Park (4.20%) Bensonhurst/Mapleton (3.81%) Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay (3.57%) Flatlands/Midwood (3.40%) These areas account for over 23% of new cases citywide over the past two weeks despite representing just under 7% of the City’s overall population. The growth of cases in these ZIP codes is 3.3 times the citywide average over the past 14 days.