The overwhelming majority are observing the rules of social distancing, Shain said, although it took people a while to fully understand how serious the virus is. On March 9, before strict measures had been put in place by authorities, many people in town attended celebrations for Purim, a festive Jewish holiday. So much of life in Lakewood’s Orthodox community is communal by nature, he said, with large families whose children play together, and prayers three times a day at synagogues that hold up to 1,000 congregants.