The Jewish death rate in England due to the coronavirus pandemic hit a seven-month-high, according to the latest figures collated by the Board of Deputies.
Some 20 new deaths caused by COVID-19 among England's Jewish community were reported last week, the first time this figure has been in double digits since May, Jewish News reported.
The Board "has recorded a larger increase in reported COVID-19 mortality in the Jewish community this week than in previous weeks," said Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl, adding that "this may or may not be the start of a trend."
"However," she continued, "as communities in London, Hertfordshire and Essex move into Tier 3 to join those such as Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Gateshead, it serves as a reminder that we should all be carefully adhering to Government guidance.
“I implore everyone to follow the government regulations on hygiene and social distancing so that we can all keep as safe as possible,” she said.
This comes as Britain begins its vaccine program this week and others are likely to follow soon, so governments are seeking to reassure people of vaccines' safety and efficacy in order to get a critical mass to take them.
Nearly 140,000 people in the United Kingdom have received their first COVID-19 shots in the first week of roll-out of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
The vaccine was approved for emergency use two weeks ago, with roll-out commencing on December 8, making Britain the first country to deploy the shot outside clinical trials.
"A really good start to the vaccination program. It's been 7 days and we have done: England: 108,000, Wales: 7,897, Northern Ireland: 4,000, Scotland: 18,000. UK Total 137,897," Nadhim Zahawi said in a tweet. "That number will increase as we have operationalised hundreds of PCN (primary care networks)."
People have to receive two doses of the vaccine, 21 days apart, so no one who has received their first dose is fully protected yet.
Reuters contributed to this story.