15 More Coronavirus Deaths In Ocean County: NJ Officials

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Fifteen more people from Ocean County have died as a result of the new coronavirus, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli announced Thursday.

It was the highest single-day death total reported by the state for Ocean County and brings the total deaths to 38 in the county. The jump comes on a day where the state reported its largest single-day total: 182 new deaths. There have been 537 deaths across the state, Persichilli said.

There have been 25,590 positive cases in New Jersey as of Thursday afternoon, she said. Of the 59,110 coronavirus tests administered in the state to people who are showing symptoms of a respiratory illness, 57 percent have come back negative for the virus, state health officials have said.

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Persichilli said of the 182 new deaths reported Thursday, 124 were overnight deaths from communicable disease reporting by facilities. The remaining 58 were identified from electronic death certificates that were filed.

Figures for how many people have been hospitalized due to the virus and how many have recovered in the county and in New Jersey are not yet available, but state officials are working to gather that information, Persichilli said Thursday.

There has not been a town-by-town breakdown on deaths provided by either state or county health officials. At least six of the Ocean County deaths have been rabbis in Lakewood, according to publicly posted notices on several websites.

Ocean County releases town-by-town case counts each afternoon; its most recent counts, from Wednesday afternoon, show 1,256 positive tests for COVID-19 in the county. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

That figure included 450 cases in Lakewood, 204 in Toms River, 125 in Brick, 114 in Jackson, 83 in Berkeley, 67 in Manchester, 38 in Barnegat, 36 in Lacey, 36 in Point Pleasant, 25 in Stafford, 16 in South Toms River, 11 in Beachwood, nine in Little Egg Harbor, six in Seaside Heights, five in Long Beach Township, four in Plumsted, four in Waretown, three in Beach Haven, three in Lakehurst, three in Lavallette, three in Point Pleasant Beach, two in Barnegat Light, two in Bay Head, two in Seaside Park, two in Ship Bottom, two in Island Heights and one in Surf City.

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