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The leader of Kiryas Joel in Orange County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to multiple sources.
Satmar Grand Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, 72, who leads one of the world's largest Hasidic groups, reportedly tested positive over the weekend and is resting at home in Kiryas Joel.
Jewish publications, including Fast Forward, are reporting that Teitelbaum had not been seen in public for about a week when one of his assistants became sick with symptoms of COVID-19.
Teitelbaum is the spiritual leader of one of the two branches of the Satmar sect in the U.S. and aboard. His brother, Zalman, leads a large sect in the Williamsburg/Brooklyn area.
Both leaders have ordered all schools and synagogues closed in the area.
Kiryas Joel, formed in the 1970s, has about 26,000 residents, with the majority of them Jewish.
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