As the number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in Israel rose to 324 on Tuesday afternoon, the Health Ministry instructed Israelis not to leave their homes except for essential needs. People are not permitted to leave their homes to go to parks, libraries, museums beaches, swimming pools or other public areas except for purposes of taking out children or pets as a family. People may leave their homes to shop for groceries, buy medications, receive medical care and other essential needs. Those who have workplaces that fulfills the Health Ministry’s requirements may travel to work. No public or private group activities may be held, even with a minimal amount of participants, including sports and workouts.

Cuomo vs DeBlasio – who is right? New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there are no plans to quarantine New York City, despite rumors and fears. “We hear New York City is going to quarantine itself — that is not true,” Cuomo said at a news conference, adding that cities would need to get state approval to make such orders. Earlier today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is “absolutely considering” ordering the city’s residents to shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic. “Right now we have taken a series of steps to reduce the number of people who are circulating around,” he said.

There’s been a decrease in hostile enemy activity toward Israel due to the spread of the coronavirus, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters on Monday by telephone. Zilberman refrained from mentioning Iran by name but said that “there are countries which have been hit harder than Israel by the coronavirus and consequently their activities have decreased.” According to official reports, there are 14,991 Iranians diagnosed with virus and 853 fatalities but unofficial reports say the toll is actually much greater, with people dying in the streets and the dead being buried in mass graves, scenes proven in online videos. An Iranian nurse reported in an online video that there were over 100 deaths in her hospital alone in one day.

There is some uncertainty regarding two issues that dozens of people in New York have asked YWN to clarify. We spoke with NYS Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein who spent the day in Albany, and answered both pressing questions to clarify for those asking. The first is school closures. Governor Cuomo today announced that he’s signing an executive order directing all schools in New York to close by Wednesday, March 18 for two weeks ending April 1. This includes all Yeshivas and other private schools. At that time, the state will reassess whether to extend the school closures further.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day instituted a state of emergency today. All public schools that serve grades K-12 are to suspend all classroom and extracurricular functions starting Tuesday. The closure will be for two weeks. Private schools must close starting Wednesday. Day’s order also mandates that universities, colleges and other public and private educational facilities shut to all students by Wednesday, except for resident students, who will be allowed to access dorms and dining facilities. Facilities that are solely dedicated to daycare, preschool and pre-kindergarten are exempt from this order. STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

The White House has issued guidelines for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Titled “The President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 15 days to slow the spread,” many of the guidelines are broad and have been what the administration and health officials have been saying from the start of the outbreak. Included in the guidelines: People should avoid gathering in groups of more than 10. People should stay away from bars restaurants and food courts, and to not travel if possible. The guidelines also say states that have seen community spread should close bars, restaurants and other public places, though again, that is not a mandate.

The Rav of the Kosel, Harav Shmuel Rabinowitz, has instructed mispallelim to refrain from kissing the stones of the Kosel in light of the Health Ministry’s instructions regarding personal hygiene. “Following consultation between the Rav of the Kosel, Harav Shmuel Rabinowitz and the Health Ministry, it was decided to ask the public to refrain from kissing the stones of the Kosel in order to maintain necessary hygiene,” a Western Wall Heritage Foundation spokesperson stated. Meanwhile, mispallelim are continuing to arrive at the Kosel, with hundreds davening v’sakin on Monday morning in separate small groups. Dozens of bar mitzvahs were also celebrated at the Kosel on Monday, with a smaller amount of participants than usual.

There are 344 people in Israel infected with the coronavirus as of Monday afternoon, according to the Health Ministry. Five are in critical condition and 11 are in moderate condition. The spike in numbers may be due to the increased amount of tests for the coronavirus performed on Sunday and Monday. A department head at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv was diagnosed with the virus, forcing the hospital to transfer all his patients, many of them elderly, to another unit to allow the unit to be disinfected. The unit’s medical staff were ordered to go home and self-quarantine. An intern at Ichilov who worked in the Urology Department tested positive for the virus on Monday, forcing the hospital to close the unit and send the 40 staff members of the unit into self-quarantine.

Israel’s Health Ministry published instructions on Sunday for tending to a niftar who died from the coronavirus when the risk of infection is still present in the niftar’s body, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. A special team comprised of Chevra Kaddisha members who will undergo special training and be approved by the Religious Services Ministry or the Interior Ministry will be the only ones allowed by the Health Ministry to tend to coronavirus victims. According to the ministry’s instructions, it won’t be possible to perform a tahara for the niftar. The team, who will be protected by special clothing, will wrap the body in two sealed bags in order to prevent the spread of the virus during the levaya.

All Yeshivas are being told to prepare for an imminent shutdown, YWN has learned. NJ Governor Murphy is expected to announce the closure of all public and private schools in the entire state of New Jersey on Monday, which will force all Lakewood Yeshivas to close. Sources tell YWN that multiple doctors were in touch with Lakewood Rabbonim all day Sunday, pleading with them to close before the pandemic spreads like wildfire across the town, endangering the lives of many elderly and medically vulnerable residents. Eventually, word came from the Governor’s office that they would be forced to close following the announcement, which will come on Monday. Below is a letter that the Agudah of NJ sent to all Mosdos advising them to prepare for the shutdown.