Police forces dispersed hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men in the radical Mea Shearim neighborhood Monday morning, following efforts to convince the community to comply with social-distancing orders.

Police found people congregating in synagogues in the neighborhood for prayer services, as well as other gatherings in the streets and individuals out of their homes without good reason, violating Health Ministry orders.

The police issued 25 people with NIS 5,000 fines for violating orders not to gather in groups larger than 10 people, and five people with fines of NIS 500 for straying more than 100 meters from their homes for a non-essential need.

And a shteiblach, a synagogue with multiple prayer services at the same time, was closed by the police for 30 days for violating Health Ministry orders

Four men were arrested during the police patrols in the neighborhood.

In an incident not connected to the police operation, a Magen David Adom team came to Mea Shearim to perform a coronavirus test but was attacked and stoned by extremists in which one member of the team was lightly injured and the windscreen of vehicle smashed.

“Miraculously, he was only slightly injured in the shoulder… A complaint will be filed with the police,” Magen David Adom said in a statement to the press.

cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

In Bnei Brak, police broke up a distribution point for Passover food where more than 100 people had gathered

The new efforts by the police come following the release of data showing extremely high rates of coronavirus infection amongst the ultra-Orthodox community, and reports that in some major hospitals more between 40 to 60 percent of coronavirus patients were ultra-Orthodox.

Extremists in radical neighborhoods such as Mea Shearim have openly flouted social-distancing orders and continued to congregate for prayer services, weddings and funerals, leading to heightened police action in recent days.