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U.S. NEWS Thursday 30 april 2020
NYC mayor takes heat after lashing out at Jewish funeral

Continued from Front same city have done the same day (not social responders under a partnership with the fede-
distance).” the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs ral Department of Health and Human Services.
In another tweet, de Blasio called the large Council tweeted. The testing will begin next week and will take
gathering, the latest in a string of ultra-Ortho- De Blasio said Wednesday that he was sorry if place at the front-line workers’ workplaces,
dox funerals to be broken up by police, “abso- his words hurt anyone’s feelings but he didn’t the mayor said.
lutely unacceptable.” regret calling out what he characterized as a A positive antibody test does not guarantee
“What I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as dangerous violation of social distancing rules. immunity to the virus, and the mayor said he-
we are fighting the Coronavirus,” he wrote. “If you saw anger and frustration, you’re right. I alth care workers and first responders should
Images posted on social media show hund- spoke out of real distress,” the mayor said. “It’s not let down their guard or shed protective
reds of people on the street for the funeral of a not like people gathering in the park. This was equipment. Still, he said, a positive antibody
rabbi who had died of COVID-19. Some mour- thousands of people,” he said. “What I saw, I test should offer some reassurance.
ners wore face coverings. have not seen anywhere else.” “Anyone who has been infected and came
There were no arrests, but Police Commissioner Adherence to social distancing guidelines has through obviously had the ability to beat this
Dermot Shea said Wednesday that a dozen been a challenge in some Orthodox Jewish disease,” de Blasio said. “Knowing you’ve
summonses were issued citing social distan- communities, where trust in secular authorities been exposed to it is powerful information.”
cing violations and refusal to disperse. is low. ___
Shea said that mourners who defy the state’s Leaders of several U.S. Orthodox organizations MANY MASKS
ban are not only risking giving the virus to each issued a statement last month urging people A towering collage of hundreds of multi-colo-
other, but potentially also exposing officers to heed social distancing rules after the Fire red face masks sent to New York to help fight
who have to respond for crowd control. Department had to break up a large Orthodox the outbreak was unveiled by Cuomo at his
“You are putting my cops’ lives at risk, and it’s wedding in Brooklyn. daily briefing.
unacceptable,” Shea said. ___ Five days after highlighting the generosity of
Critics, however, assailed de Blasio for the lan- THE NUMBERS a retired Kansas farmer who donated a mask,
guage in his tweet chiding “the Jewish com- New York reported 330 new COVID-19 deaths, Cuomo said thousands more have come in
munity” for the actions of members of one continuing a trend of daily fatalities decrea- from across the country.
sect. sing slowly over the past three weeks. The mix of masks included homemade cove-
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. “The decline has been slow at best and still dis- rings decorated with little hand prints, stripes
Lauder said Wednesday he was recommen- gustingly high,” Cuomo said Wednesday. and tie-dyed patterns. One read “I Love NY.”
ding that the group formally censure de Blasio. The virus has claimed just over 18,000 lives sta- Cuomo called it a “self-portrait of America.”
“I agree with the Mayor that social distancing tewide since the outbreak began last month, “This is just people’s way of saying we care
is vitally important — and last night’s gathering according to state figures. The state total and we want to help,” he said. “This is what
was not appropriate,” Lauder said in a state- doesn’t include more than 5,300 New York this country’s about. And this is what America’s
ment. “But to blame the entire Jewish com- City deaths that were attributed to the virus on about.”
munity is the type of stereotyping that is dan- death certificates but weren’t confirmed by a ___
gerous and unacceptable at any time, and lab test. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
particularly pernicious while the world is grip- Cuomo said virus-related hospitalization rates Many of New York City’s suburbs have also
ped in fear and the worst among us are look- continue to tick down. But the number of new been hit hard by the outbreak. In some, there
ing for scapegoats.” hospital admissions is holding at around 950 have been more fatalities per capita than in
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan people a day. Manhattan.
Greenblatt tweeted that generalizing about The coronavirus causes mild symptoms in In cities around the world, public transporta-
the whole Jewish population of New York City many, but it can cause serious illness or death tion systems are key to getting workers back
“is outrageous especially when so many are for some, particularly older adults and those on the job. Yet methods of getting around will
scapegoating Jews.” with certain health conditions. have to be re-imagined for the coronavirus
Others noted the crowds that gathered earlier ___ era.
Tuesday to watch a flyover by the Navy’s Blue ANTIBODY TESTS FOR FRONT-LINE WORKERS New York City’s arts community — dancers,
Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds to ho- De Blasio announced Wednesday that anti- actors, visual artists and designers, who never
nor health-care workers. body testing to show whether a person was made much income to start with — is especi-
“Only bigots have a problem when a few 100 previously infected with the coronavirus will be ally suffering, imperiling New York City as a cre-
Hasidim do what thousands of people in the offered to 150,000 health care workers and first ative capital.q
Drug proves effective against virus as economic damage rises

Scientists on Wednesday age climbing more than tic product, or output of
announced the first ef- 550 points, or over 2%, in goods and services, shrank
fective treatment against the afternoon. at an annual rate of 4.8% in
the coronavirus — an ex- The news came as the U.S. the January-March period,
perimental drug that can government reported that the sharpest quarterly drop
speed the recovery of American output is shrivel- since the global financial
COVID-19 patients — in a ing at an alarming rate in meltdown of more than a
major medical advance the biggest and fastest col- decade ago.
that came as the econom- lapse since the Depression. And the worst is yet to
ic gloom caused by the The virus has killed over come: The Congressional
scourge deepened in the 220,000 people worldwide Budget Office has esti-
U.S. and Europe. since December, including mated that the GDP of the
The U.S. government said it about 60,000 confirmed world's biggest economy
is working to make the an- deaths in the U.S., and led will plunge at a 40% an-
tiviral medication remdesi- to lockdowns and other re- nual rate during the three-
People in masks walk past a boarded up storefront along 14th vir available to patients as strictions that have closed month period that ends in
Street in Northwest Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2020. quickly as possible. factories and other busi- June.
Associated Press. Stocks surged around the nesses around the world.
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, and PAT EATON-ROBB world on the news, with the Amid the shutdowns, the Continued on Page 26
MARILYNN MARCHIONE Associated Press Dow Jones Industrial aver- U.S. said its gross domes-