Hundreds pray at Western Wall for End to the *CV

Chinese embassy joins special service held at Western Wall praying for end to the *C-virus epidemic. INN UPDATE BELOW


The chief rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, led a mass-prayer service at the Western Wall Sunday afternoon praying for the end of the ongoing coronavirus [COVID19] epidemic **centered around the city of Wuhan, in China. [actually in all of China and many other countries]


Hundreds joined the prayer service, including Rabbi Uri Sherki, chairman of the Brit Olam – Noahide World Center; Rabbi Avi Berman, chief of the Orthodox Union’s Israel branch; Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, chairman of the Assocation of Community Rabbis; Chabad emissaries from China; officials from the Chinese embassy in Israel, and dozens of Chinese citizens.

The service, which spanned both mincha (the traditional Jewish afternoon prayer) and maariv (the traditional Jewish evening prayer) included a special prayer on behalf of the people of China, a prayer read in Chinese, and the blowing of a shofar.

“So many people came out here today,” said Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, “and many more announced they were organizing their own prayer services in synagogues and schools in their communities.”

“The Chinese people need to know that they are in the hearts of the Jewish people, which is praying for them and is hoping for their success and wellbeing. When there is this kind of love in the world, God opens the gates of prayer and accepts our prayers. May it be His will that our prayers be answered, and that this epidemic among the Chinese people and across the world be stopped.”

Nearly 69,300 people have thus far been diagnosed with the coronavirus, the vast majority of them (over 68,500) in China.

One-thousand-six-hundred-and-seventy-one people have died as a result of the coronavirus according to the official count, while 9,883 people have recovered thus far.

*there was interference in posting with the name “coronavirus” in the title, so I had to abbreviate.
**There are Jews in the Wuhan area
––––––––––––––––––––––––––
MEANWHILE
Israel preps for coronavirus epidemic with apps, robots
Amid conflicting predictions about arrival of coronavirus in Israel, Sheba Medical Center is preparing for it with different high-tech means arutzsheva

Amid conflicting predictions and mounting dread about the arrival of the coronavirus in Israel, Sheba Medical Center is preparing for it with different high-tech means: a telemedicine app that enables patients to receive care in the isolation, but comfort, of their own home; and robots that can treat in-hospital patients in order to minimize contact with staff – and other patients.

[…] "This is one instance where telemedicine protects staff as well as other patients, by minimizing direct contact with those infected with the coronavirus," explained Galia Barkai, head of telemedicine services at Sheba.

Another high-tech solution for patients possibly infected with the coronavirus is a robot which can enter the patient's room and be controlled by medical staff from the outside. Designed by California-based virtual healthcare company Intouch Health, the robots are already in use in other departments, such as in the ICU of pediatric cardiology and the Trauma Unit. The robot can perform various tasks while transmitting information and images in real time to the doctor. "This technology is the perfect solution to provide care for inpatients infected with coronavirus, while protecting staff from contagion," said Barkai.

Read full article at above link.