Barnet Council has urged Golders Green residents to maintain social distancing measures following a “small increase” in positive Covid-19 cases.
An alert was issued to households in the “NW11 area” on Wednesday citing “anecdotal evidence” of an “increase in family clusters of cases in the Jewish Orthodox communities.”
Cllr Caroline Stock, chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Barnet’s Mayor Dr Tamara Djuretic, director of Public Health said:”We are writing to alert you to a small increase in positive Covid-19 cases in NW11 area.
“We do not have information that is granular enough to suggest it is originating from a specific community, but anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in family cluster of cases in the Jewish Orthodox communities.
“This has also occurred recently in Hackney and Haringey. We also now know that Jewish males are at much higher risk of dying from this infection.
“We would therefore urge you to respect, at all time, social distancing measures in order to keep Golders Green and Barnet a safe place for yourself, your families and friends and protect vulnerable and elderly that you come into contact with.
“We have been working closely with all the faith groups to develop a best practice guide for places of worship and Public Health England has published guidelines too that can be accessed via this link If you are in any doubt, please ask your questions at publichealth@barnet.gov.uk .”
The number of deaths in the Jewish community from Covid-19 currently stands at 504 according to data collated by the Board of Deputies.
