16 Ocean County Workers Test Positive For COVID-19: Official

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Sixteen people working in the Ocean County administrative offices have tested positive for the coronavirus after more than 250 people sought screening when a worker at the Board of Elections reported being positive for COVID-19, a county official said Thursday.

Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block said the 16 people were from different departments, and not all workers involved with the work that remains to tally ballots and certify the 2020 general election results.

The Board of Elections worked Thursday and will be working Friday, and they expect to be able to meet all the deadlines to certify the election, Block said.

More than 200 people received saliva testing offered by the county on Friday, Block said, after an employee reported testing positive. Those 200 employees came from a variety of departments, he said, and included workers from other offices who were shifted over to help with the election work. They received their test results privately in about 48 hours. Read more: Ocean Elections Board Resumes After Worker's COVID-19 Positive

On Monday, a different employee reported testing positive in the Board of Elections, which led to the shutdown of operations Monday and the Tuesday closure for cleaning, Block said. On Wednesday, 50 people working specifically with the Board of Elections were tested using the instant tests after a different employee reported a positive test.

Those employees who tested negative through the rapid test will undergo the nasal swab test Friday to confirm their negative results, Block said.

The 16 positive results spanned the two sets of tests and included two members of the National Guard who were providing security at the Board of Elections. They have been replaced by other National Guard members, Block said.

Some of the 16 were employees who had been assigned from other departments to help with the election work. Some were employees of the Board of Elections, Block said, but not all of them, and not enough to disrupt the remaining work to certify the election.

Block also said that some of the employees who tested positive were asymptomatic, but have been required to quarantine, as have the other employees who tested positive.

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