Splendid Isolation

As the Coronavirus arrived on these shores and the community’s answer to it accelerated in response, that’s how I felt. The slew of calls, texts, messages and emails went from a trickle to a flood in a matter of hours as the community mobilized to cope with a whole new set of challenges.

Almost overnight, following a series of late night crisis meetings that brought together Kehilla lay leaders, rabbonim, Hatzola and volunteers, a new service was born. The newly formed Gateshead Kehilla Coronavirus Support launched a phone line to serve anyone self-isolating or in quarantine. Users can call, leave a message stating their need, and one of around 100 volunteers marshalled on a dedicated messaging group are poised to respond.

Barely a day or two old, Erev Shabbos hit the new service. As over 40 families in the Kehilla were already self-isolating or quarantined, the calls came in thick and fast. For food shopping, for prescriptions, for medication, for errands, for pre-Pesach shopping – you name it.

Since our almost two-year-old son had developed a mild fever on Wednesday we were advised by our doctor to hunker down and batten down the hatches. The new service became our lifeline as we asked for all our Shabbos supplies to be shopped and delivered, from soup to nuts. When my wife decided that a new trampoline would help see us through, a volunteer came by to fetch my credit card and returned an hour later, depositing the large box at our door and quickly retreating away from our condemned abode.