Jewish Ledger
Amid pandemic, India’s Jews try to stay safe while offering relief to hardest hit
By Cnaan Liphshiz
(JTA) – Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbai’s Jewish community center, hasn’t left his home since March.
That’s when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing a daily death toll of at least 4,000. The country is on track to have the world’s highest death toll by far, as stories pile up of people succumbing to the disease because they cannot access oxygen or hospital beds.
India’s approximately 7,000 Jews, most of whom live in Mumbai, generally belong to the privileged minority with the means to self-isolate. But even within the community, India’s widely celebrated multigenerational households have increased anxiety about the virus’s onslaught.
Amid Pandemic, Indiaâs Jews Try to Stay Safe While Offering Relief to the Hardest Hit
Indiaâs approximately 7,000 Jews, most of whom live in Mumbai, generally belong to the privileged minority with the means to self-isolate.
(JTA) â Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbaiâs Jewish community center, hasnât left his home since March.
Thatâs when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing a daily death toll of at least 4,000. The country is on track to have the worldâs highest death toll by far, as stories pile up of people succumbing to the disease because they cannot access oxygen or hospital beds.
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A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a person to test for COVID-19 as others wait for their turn outside a field hospital in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Infections in India hit another grim daily record on Thursday as demand for medical oxygen jumped seven-fold and the government denied reports that it was slow in distributing life-saving supplies from abroad. (AP Photo/Rajanish kakade)
JTA Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbai’s Jewish community center, hasn’t left his home since March.
That’s when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing a daily death toll of at least 4,000. The country is on track to have the world’s highest death toll by far, as stories pile up of people succumbing to the disease because they cannot access oxygen or hospital beds.
Photo by Anindito Mukherjee/Getty .
A woman reacts in discomfort after she arrived to receive oxygen for coronavirus patients amid scarcity in New Delhi, India.
(JTA) Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbai’s Jewish community center, hasn’t left his home since March.
That’s when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing a daily death toll of at least 4,000. The country is on track to have the world’s highest death toll by far, as stories pile up of people succumbing to the disease because they cannot access oxygen or hospital beds.
Herzel Simon celebrates Hanukkah at his home in Mumbai, India, Dec. 29, 2020. (Courtesy of Simon)
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(JTA) Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbai’s Jewish community center, hasn’t left his home since March.
That’s when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing a daily death toll of at least 4,000. The country is on track to have the world’s highest death toll by far, as stories pile up of people succumbing to the disease because they cannot access oxygen or hospital beds.
India’s approximately 7,000 Jews, most of whom live in Mumbai, generally belong to the privileged minority with the means to self-isolate. But even within the community, India’s widely celebrated multigenerational households have increased anxiety about the virus’s onslaught.