How the Pandemic Nearly Tore Israel Apart nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Despite an extensive vaccination campaign, coronavirus cases in Israel remain high and show little sign of decreasing. Israel is in the midst of a third nationwide lockdown, and has halted inbound and outbound flights and closed down its overland border crossings. 5,001 Israelis have died so far of the virus.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip await vaccines, though it may take at least a few more months for their campaigns to reach enough members of the population. 1,516 people have died so far in the West Bank, while 526 have died in Gaza.
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Scheiner had also taken a very strict stance regarding the coronavirus guidelines. He received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine a month ago, but contracted the virus before receiving the second dose. His condition deteriorated quickly and he died on Sunday at Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem, near Jerusalem.
In his last public letter, written at the start of the third wave of the pandemic in Israel, Scheiner encouraged the public to observe the coronavirus restrictions and to get vaccinated.
“It’s nearly a year that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has sent to the world a difficult epidemic that is spreading with great damage. Many have been hurt by it and many have died, including great Torah sages and pious ones,” he wrote. “That’s why it is incumbent on every one of us to do God’s will at this time, and. make the proper effort, based on the opinion of the experts, so as not to be harmed, God forbid, and not to infect others.”