Jewish community’s Covid-19 death toll jumps to 497

The number of coronavirus-related fatalities has jumped to 497 among UK Jews as of last Friday, up from 492 the previous week.

The latest figure, released on Tuesday afternoon, covers fatalities both in hospital and beyond, using data gathered from burial boards, regional Jewish communities and the Jewish Small Communities Network, as collated by the Board of Deputies.

“This week’s figure means that we have recorded five further deaths than last week. Every loss is a tragedy. We are clearly seeing a reduction in weekly numbers, but vigilance must be maintained so that numbers do not start to rise again,” read a statement from the Board of Deputies.

Some of the smaller communities included in the methodology are unable to report weekly data, the umbrella body said, as it urged caution when establishing week to week trends.

The national death toll among those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings reached 41,736 as of Sunday, health authorities said Monday.