It is believed that many of the visitors have been staying in their holiday homes, ignoring government guidance that people remain in their primary residences. One local reported that two Charedi families had arrived at their apartment block, which has a number of elderly and at risk residents. Another had seen families coming for a weekend stay at a nearby block.
It is understood that the vast majority of inquiries about the town’s women’s mikveh have been from visitors.
One of the hotels named by locals is the Normandie. A manager, Jack (who declined to give his surname), strenuously denied that it was hosting minyans.
He said the Normandie had been closed to the public. It was possible that people could have used its garden to daven, or for a socially-distanced minyan, but he could not comment further as he had not been at the hotel because of the lockdown.
