These days Yassmen Yahya is too scared to check her phone messages in case they contain news of another death from COVID-19.
"Right now, there are 14 Mandaean families with COVID," she said.
Ms Yahya is part of south-west Sydney's 5,000-strong Mandaean community, most of whom live in the Liverpool and Campbelltown areas.
In recent weeks, 70 community members have tested positive and two people have died.
"When one Mandaean dies, it's a real hurt to us," Ms Yahya said.
Eighty-four-year-old Shakir Saleh Rishoodi died alone at Liverpool Hospital after catching the disease from an infected staff member in mid-July.
Fellow Mandaean Aude Alaskar was just 27 when he succumbed to the disease in his Warwick Farm home a few weeks later.
A persecuted minority
The Mandaean religion can be traced back 2,000 years to Mesopotamia, an area that is now modern-day Iraq and Iran.
Believers follow the teachings of John the Baptist and undergo regular ritual baptisms.
For centuries they have been persecuted, leading to dwindling numbers.
That decline has been accelerated by the fact that it's a closed religion, meaning outsiders cannot convert and followers must marry within the faith.
The community is no stranger to hardship — many fled the Middle East during the recent conflicts in the region or to escape religious persecution in areas occupied by Islamic State.
But now they face a different threat.
Community in fear
Fellow Mandaean Michael Sobbi's phone is constantly pinging with rumours, conspiracy theories and the latest COVID updates.
"There's so much misinformation and we are scared," he said.
"Now people have gone into panic mode."
The father of two lives in Penrith and his siblings and parents live within the Liverpool local government area (LGA). Both are deemed "areas of concern" in Sydney's Delta outbreak.
Mr Sobbi has seen attitudes shift from denial during the early stages of the outbreak to depression and fear in recent days.
"It is a real tragedy when you have a young, sweet person like Aude, who had everything ahead of him, to be taken like this," he said.
Mr Sobbi said Mr Alaskar's wife, who worked at an aged care home in Liverpool, caught the virus at her workplace and brought it home, where her husband was infected.
"There's guilt on the family's part, but it's so hard to feel that way," he said.
"Our leaders and the community are heartbroken for her."
Community pulls together
Ms Yahya works as a translator at a COVID-19 testing clinic in the area.
She is also part of a team delivering care packages and information to elderly Mandaeans and families who have tested positive.
"We are trying to help with packages and information, not just to say, 'Here are the facts,' but to understand the culture and share the suffering," Ms Yahya said.
Baptisms on hold
In normal times, the Mandaean population meets regularly on the banks of the Nepean River to carry out the baptisms that form an important part of their religion.
Now the baptisms have come to a halt, which Ms Yahya says has "hurt the soul" of the community.
"Most of the Mandaeans came as refugees and have trauma," she said.
"When you stop something that gave so many hope, they get angry especially if they get sent a photo of people on Bondi with no police around."
Ms Yahya said despite misinformation circulating on social media, vaccine bookings among community members were increasing.
While no specific vaccination figures for Mandaeans are available, rates in Liverpool are up from less than 10 per cent of people partially vaccinated in early July to almost 60 per cent coverage as of August 23.
In Campbelltown, the rate has jumped from 20 per cent to almost 70 per cent partial vaccination.
Fighting for their faith
For Ms Yahya, the struggle to keep her community safe has been exhausting.
"Every day I feel like it's not in my control, it's not in my hands, and we are fighting, fighting to get information to people and fighting to keep our faith together."
