At least five rabbis from Lakewood have died after contracting coronavirus, with Rabbi Michoel Tzvi Fettman, 39, and the father of nine, the most recent to succumb to the viral epidemic that has so far killed nearly 200 people in New Jersey.

Fettman died on Monday, according to the Lakewood Scoop.

The Jerusalem Post reported 44 rabbis outside of Israel have died so far as a result of coronavirus, most of them in the New York City metropolitan area. The majority came from the Orthodox community.

They included Lakewood residents Avrohom Eliezer Gordon, a rabbi for nearly 50 years at Yeshiva Bais Dovid in Monsey, N.Y., before recently moving to Lakewood; Rabbi Avraham Levi Bressler, 58, a noted scholar and father of three; Rabbi Chaim Weill; and Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Schmidt, one of the owners of Paskez Candy in Brooklyn.

Coronavirus has hit particularly hard in Lakewood, the fastest growing and most populous town in Ocean County. The number of those testing positive for COVID-19 now stands at 399, according to the latest figures released Monday afternoon by the county health department.

With the increase of testing and a close-knit population of more than 110,000, it is no surprise to epidemiologists that the number of those testing positive for coronavirus in Lakewood has been increasing in recent days. The Ocean County town hosts both a large Orthodox Jewish community and a large number of seniors living in sprawling retirement communities.

Jersey City leads the state in COVID-19 cases. Mayor Steven Fulop said there are now 820 confirmed cases and six fatalities.

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