The death toll from coronavirus continues to rise within the British Jewish community, up to 34 reported on Friday from 25 the day before. 

The Board of Deputies is collating the figures from Jewish burial society figures where the disease is given as the cause of death. 

There have been 759 deaths from the virus in Britain according to the latest count, out of 14,543 cases. 

Given that British Jews represent only roughly half of a percent of the national population, the number of deaths  in the community – at just under 4.5 per cent of the national total – is disproportionately high. British Jewry has a more elderly profile than the country as a whole. 

One casualty who died yesterday was Rabbi Uri Ashkenazi, 76, who headed the Stanislaver steibl in Stamford Hill. He was well-known as a mohel. 

Meanwhile, a group of Jewish doctors yesterday issued a new circular aimed at sections of the Charedi community, reiterating the need to follow government requirements to protect themselves. 

“It is essential that there should not be any private minyanim or gatherings, not even outside,” they warned. 

“The reason why the virus is spreading so fast in our community is due to the social interaction and gatherings that take place, and that must stop.”