West London Synagogue shuts Sunday cheder

Mr Reshef said in the email that it had been a “difficult decision”, stating: “Please know that it is with heavy heart that we have made this decision and I do hope this will not affect anyone too severely.”

He added: “I wish you all a good health and I hope this will all be behind us as soon as possible."

The shul's Senior Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger has decided to step away from communal events after a colleague tested positive for coronavirus.

She told the JC: “Though medical advice was that I need not self-isolate because I had no symptoms of the infection, in consultation with my colleagues at West London Synagogue, I decided that because we have elderly and vulnerable people within our community it would do no harm for me to hold back from attending  communal events for the time being.”

She added that the synagogue had introduced “a range of measures to protect staff, contractors, members and visitors coming into the building for events and services.

"We have always emphasised caring for the elderly and the vulnerable, never more so than in the current climate.”

WLS confirmed Rabbi Neuberger had not participated in the most recent Saturday Shabbat service and Rabbi Helen Freeman read her sermon in her place.