Ocean County Coronavirus Cases Pass 2,000: County Officials

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Five days after drive-through testing for the new coronavirus started at Ocean County College, the county's total number of positive cases has passed 2,000, and of those, 56 people have died, according to authorities.

Overall, there have been 34,124 positive cases statewide, including the 2,021 in Ocean County, and the number of patients who have died from complications of the virus rose to 846, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Saturday during a news conference.

There were 21 Ocean County deaths among the 200 Persichilli announced Saturday, but the state website's total for the county rose only 11 from the 45 listed on Friday. Persichilli has said figures fluctuate as information on residences gets updated and corrected.

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The 311-case increase over Friday's 1,710 count was one of the sharpest in the three weeks since the first case was identified in Ocean County on March 13, and is more than double the 954 positives reported on March 30. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Some of the increase is likely attributable to the Ocean County test site, which has been handling about 150-175 tests per day. The tests are being processed by Bioreference Laboratories, with an estimated turnaround of three to five days.

Persichilli has said that because the focus is on testing those who are symptomatic, the percentage of positive cases is running higher, about 44 percent of the tests taken for the virus. Figures on how many people have recovered after testing positive have not yet been made available statewide.

While neither Ocean County or state officials have provided municipalities for those who have died, the county health department gave an update on the number of positive cases by municipality. The health department said the municipalities are based on what patients have reported, and sometimes change based on updated information on addresses.

Here is that information by town. In addition to the number of cases as of Saturday at 11 a.m., we've included the change in the number of cases since Friday, and the change since March 30, both in parentheses:

• Barnegat 56 (+10 since Friday; +33 since March 30)
• Barnegat Light 2
• Bay Head 2 (0; +1)
• Beach Haven 4 (0; +1)
• Beachwood 23 (+4; +16)
• Berkeley 135 (+21; +77)
• Brick 218 (+44; +125)
• Eagleswood 0
• Harvey Cedars 0
• Island Heights 2 (0; +1)
• Jackson 178 (+24; +88)
• Lacey 56 (+5; +34)
• Lakehurst 4 (+1; +3)
• Lakewood 690 (+91; +291)
• Lavallette 5 (+3; +3)
• Little Egg Harbor 20 (+3; +13)
• Long Beach Township 6 (0; +3)
• Manchester 107 (+20; +65)
• Mantoloking 0
• Ocean Gate 0
• Ocean Twp. (Waretown) 8 (+2; +4)
• Pine Beach 0
• Plumsted 9 (+2; +5)
• Point Pleasant Beach 8 (+3; +5)
• Point Pleasant Borough 59 (+7; +31)
• Seaside Heights 10 (+4; +5)
• Seaside Park 3 (+1; +1)
• Ship Bottom 5 (0; +3)
• South Toms River 22 (+2; +12)
• Surf City 2 (0; +1)
• Stafford 49 (+9; +37)
• Toms River 336 (+56; +209)
• Tuckerton 2 (+1; +2)

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