Orthodox Jews worry about the worsening of the measles epidemic

New York.- The measles epidemic it's be registered in Rockland County, in the suburbs of New York, and this already concerns about 160 peoplehas led to a worsening of tensions between the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that is concentrated in this region and the rest of the population.

The vast majority of infected people are minors and the epidemic has particularly affected ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose groups generally have lower vaccination rates, a situation that has led to repeated situations in which all contact with their members is avoided, according to the New York Times.

The newspaper reports that non-Jewish residents in the area say they began cleaning the public transport seats before using them or changing sidewalks when they cross the street with an ultra-Orthodox Jew, easily identifiable with his clothes and his aesthetic.

"They did this themselves," said Erica Wingate, an employee of one of the local businesses, who recounted seeing some of her clients run away from the store while they saw a member of this community cough against her. side

"A woman bought something, she suddenly left it and said," Come on, Jews do not get vaccinated, "Wingate said.

The measles epidemic, an extremely contagious disease, prompted local authorities to declare Tuesday the state of emergency in the county and to ban children under 18 years of age from unvaccinated measles measles. to go to public places.

The measure, say the leaders of the Jewish community in the region, jeopardizes relations between the Jewish community and the rest of the population, which they said were already strained before the measles crisis.

"I think this has opened the door to everyone to say what he wants, and it seems like they said it as if the blame (of the outbreak) was totally imputed to the Orthodox community, "said the chairman of the relations council of the Jewish Federation of Rockland. Steve Gold, who has highlighted several recent episodes of anti-Semitic actions, such as the appearance of swastika graffiti.

In Rockland County, consisting of five localities located northwest of New York City, they reside about 300,000 people, of whom about 31% are Jewish, according to official figures, and includes one of the concentrations of the largest Orthodox in the United States

"It's a public health crisis and it's time to give the alarm signal," said County Chief Ed Day on Tuesday at a conference that the emergency declaration would be extended for the time being. for 30 days.

According to Day, it's the first time this measure is applied in the United States and the authorities hope this will help parents of unvaccinated children understand the need to do so.

The county chief said the authorities would not pursue people in the streets, but were waiting for citizens to comply with the order.

If they do not, they are exposed to a petty offense, with small prison sentences and fines, although they insist that no punishment is required, but that they are not liable to punishment. there is a reaction to stop the epidemic.