Israel’s Health Ministry announced that 1,831 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday out of 23,263 tests conducted. The percentage of people who took tests that were infected was more than 8 percent, a number that is much higher than in previous days. On Shabbos, the number rose to 8.9 percent of the people tested were found to have been infected with the virus. Over the course of Shabbos, 23 fires broke out in the Gaza periphery as a result of balloon bombs fired from Gaza. Firefighters and KK”L workers were active throughout the day in putting out the fires.

An arsonist torched a University of Delaware’s Chabad Center, investigators revealed Wednesday. On Tuesday, shortly after 11 p.m., a fire damaged the building on the 200 block of South College Avenue which houses the Chabad Center. Firefighters arrived at the scene and spotted flames shooting from the structure. They were able to bring the fire under control and no injuries were reported. The fire caused extensive damage. The Delaware Fire Marshal’s office later determined the blaze was intentionally set. A criminal investigation is underway. A fund has been launched on The Chesed Fund to help the Chabad House rebuild. STAY WITH YWN WHATSAPP FOR BREAKING UPDATES IN LIVE TIME!  YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status.

Flatbush Hatzolah is alerting their membership of the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. The internal memo sent to their members states that they have transported a few COVID-19 cases to the hospital in the past few weeks, and reminds their EMT’s and Paramedics to take all precautions, and wear all protective equipment when responding to emergency calls. The memo, (attached below), ends off with asking their members to say Tehillim for a 57-year-old Boro Park resident that is in critical condition with COVID-19 and has been placed on a ventilator. His name is Moshe Yehuda ben Necha Faiga.

The condition of the Pittsburgher Rebbe, HaRav Mordechai Mottel Yissachar, 64, who was taken from his home in Kiryat Pittsburgh in Ashdod on Shabbos morning to the hospital after suffering breathing difficulties due to the coronavirus, worsened on Motzei Shabbos. Pittsburger chassidim gathered at the Pittsburgher beis medrash to recite Tehillim for the Rebbe’s refuah upon hearing the news. The Rebbe, who contracted the coronavirus despite the fact that he has been davening at home since the pandemic began, is hospitalized in Laniado Hospital in Kiryat Sanz in Netanya. The public is asked to daven for the Rebbe, Mordechai Yissachar Ber ben Rochel b’soch sha’ar cholei Yisrael. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israel’s Health Ministry announced new 1,386 coronavirus cases on Motzei Shabbos in the previous 24 hours. There are currently 23,574 cases, with 387 seriously ill patients, of whom 116 are ventilated. Nine fatalities were recorded over Shabbos, raising the death toll to 674. Following the interruption of the coronavirus cabinet meeting on Thursday due to the announcement of the historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the coronavirus cabinet convened again on Friday and established new regulations for gatherings.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of the Sadigura Rebbe, HaRav Yisroel Moshe Friedman ZATZAL. The Rebbe was a member of the Moetzas Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael in Eretz Yisroel. The Rebbe had been sick for some time, and spent nearly a year in Los Angeles for various treatments. He returned to Eretz Yisroel a few months ago. The Rebbe suddenly collapsed at his home on Monday night, and was rushed to Tel Hashomer Hospital. He was Niftar a short while later. Levaya details are not yet available. STAY WITH YWN WHATSAPP FOR BREAKING UPDATES IN LIVE TIME!  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. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

More than 520,000 homes and businesses in the New York tri-state area were still without electricity Saturday as utilities worked to get the lights on four days after Tropical Storm Isaias. Tuesday’s storm dealt the region a surprisingly sharp blow, killing at least one person, downing trees, halting commuter trains and initially knocking out power to more than 2.5 million customers. A customer can be a single home or a skyscraper, sometimes even an entire apartment complex. “We understand the frustration,” Con Edison President Tim Cawley said at a virtual news briefing Saturday afternoon as 71,000 of the utility’s customers in New York City and its northern suburbs remained out of power, down from 300,000 Tuesday.

Israel’s Health Ministry updated the numbers of those infected with COVID-19 on Motzei Shabbos and announced that over the course of Shabbos 11 people passed away in Israel due to the disease. The total number of deaths in Israel caused by the disease since its outbreak is 526. The number of new cases declared over Shabbos was 582. In total, there are currently 328 people listed as being in serious condition due to the disease in Israel. In Eilat, police said that they found a person who had tested positive for the disease and instead of entering into isolation, headed to the southern city in violation of his quarantine. He had stayed for an entire day at the Club Hotel in the city.

The tallies for people hospitalized in New York with the coronavirus are continuing to drop to the lowest levels since the pandemic began, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. There were at least 646 people hospitalized in the state on Friday, a new low since March 18 and down slightly from the previous day, the Democratic governor said in a statement. The number of reported deaths in the state rose by one, to 10. Daily statewide statistics show New York with more than 750 newly confirmed cases, representing only about 1% of all tests performed. The true number of cases is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

Rights activists, politicians from both parties and many other people touched by the legacy of John Lewis mourned the congressman and pillar of the civil rights movement Saturday, lauding the strength, courage and kindness of a man whose lifelong struggle against racial discrimination took him from a bridge in Selma to the nation’s Capitol. “As a young man marching for equality in Selma, Alabama, John answered brutal violence with courageous hope,” said former President George W. Bush.