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VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 15 July 2021
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6 Av 5781
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Issue No.1219
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@JewishNewsUK
Take heart!
Street mural honours England’s heroes See page 6
‘We seem to be an afterthought’ Freedom Day beckons, but not for vulnerable by Joshua Salisbury josh@jewishnews.co.uk @josh_salisbury
Jewish charities have sounded a warning about the risks Monday’s much-vaunted Freedom Day will pose to the community’s most vulnerable. The government confirmed this week that most legal restrictions will end in England at the start of next week but that new Covid cases could reach as high as 100,000 a day in just weeks. The UK reported 42,302 cases in the last 24 hours alone.
The announcement has left many in the Jewish community fearing to leave the house because of the risk to their health. Juliet Coffer, from Hampshire, has sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition affecting multiple organs, meaning she needs to be on oxygen 24/7. She has been selfisolating for more than 600 days, since even before the pan-
demic began, because of concern about other respiratory diseases. “What got me most angry [about the announcement] was that they did not give any consideration to the immunosuppressed. We seem to be an afterthought,” she told Jewish News. “The government seems to be saying, ‘some people will die’. I could be one of those people and I have a right to life as much as anyone else.”
Coffer, who has left her house during the pandemic only once, to visit her parents, urged the public to show consideration and continue wearing masks in enclosed spaces. Sue Khazoom, an estate agent from Edgware, had an operation for ovarian cancer in January and had to undergo chemotherapy, leaving her with a weakened immune system. “The cases are going to increase, so what hope have I got for being careful?” she asked. “They’re predicting 100,000 a day by August – how can I go places?” At the moment, Khazoom is only going to indoor spaces if
there are not many people around – and says no matter what the law is, she would still have to continue minimising social contact because of the risk to her health. “They shouldn’t be reopening like this. There’s no control anymore, the government is going to lose control [of cases],” she said. “It’s going to spread like wildfire. I’m going to carry on as I am until Covid is history.” Kisharon, the community’s learning disabilities charity, said it was concerned about the needs of the clinically extremely vulnerable, Continued on page 4