Around Manchester: Schools, Coronavirus Updates

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township Schools will be back in session starting Monday with their hybrid schedule in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Plans are under discussion to move to four and five days of in-person instruction for students beyond the preschool, kindergarten, ESL and special needs students.

A survey went out to parents the week before Halloween to gauge interest but there was nothing definitive announced before the break last week. Parents should contact their child's principal if they did not receive the survey.

Superintendent Dave Trethaway said the district so far has had very few cases of the coronavirus. As of Oct. 21, there had been three, and two additional cases — a staff member at the high school who had limited contact with students, and a member of the field hockey team — were announced the week before the break. The varsity and junior varsity field hockey team members were required to quarantine for two weeks starting Oct. 28, Trethaway said.

Staff members who had been in contact with the high school staffer were notified, he said.

Each of the cases have been isolated instances, Trethaway has said.

Coronavirus update

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have continued to rise in New Jersey, with the state recording five straight days of 2,000 new cases or more statewide. On Saturday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced 3,207 new cases, and on Sunday, there were 2,043 new cases.

Ocean County remains a focus of attention, which it has been since cases started spiking in the county in September. After several days of fewer than 100 new cases, the county announced 150 new ones on Saturday. On Sunday, there were 72 new cases, giving the county 17,535 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March. Of those, 2,625 people have been hospitalized, and there have been 1,011 people who have died, according to the Ocean County Health Department.

Manchester and Lakehurst have seen increases in the number of cases. Manchester had 1,001 cases as of Oct. 28 and that has increased to 1,073 cases as of Sunday, according to the health department. It has had three additional deaths over that time, rising from 162 to 165 people who have died. Lakehurst had 48 cases as of Oct. 28 and was up to 53 as of Sunday; the borough has fewer than five deaths.

In April, Manchester established a program to assist seniors with their grocery shopping in the midst of the pandemic. Read more: Grocery Shopper Aides To Keep Ocean Seniors Safe From Coronavirus

Election update

Ballots continue to be verified and counted in Ocean County, extended for several days in part because the 2020 general election was conducted primarily by mail in New Jersey amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Ocean County released the tallies of more than 250,000 ballots on Election Night, but election workers have had to count more than 75,000 ballots since then.

According to the unofficial tallies through Sunday, 326,053 ballots had been counted; mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Nov. 3 have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to arrive to be counted, and at that time, provisional ballots will be counted. It's unclear how many provisional ballots were cast in Ocean County. Read more: Ocean County Ballot Count Inches Forward, 17K Still Be Tallied

In Manchester, the council and school board candidates have seen votes added to their totals, but no change in the unofficial results from Tuesday evening. Of Manchester's 38,051 registered voters, so far 28,456 have returned ballots.

On the Township Council, incumbents Sam Fusaro, James Vaccaro and Robert Hudak have nearly twice the number of votes that Joseph Hankins has received in unofficial tallies. Read more: Fusaro, Vaccaro, Hudak Returned To Manchester Township Council

The unofficial results of the school board race, incumbents Melanie Biscardi and Ken Pate lead, with newcomer Laura Wingler well ahead of Anthony Goltsch for the third seat: Biscardi, Pate Returned To Manchester School Board; Wingler Wins

In the 4th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Chris Smith easily defeated challenger Stephanie Schmid: Chris Smith Wins NJ 4 Congress Race, AP Says

Also, see how Manchester and Lakehurst voted on the state's question seeking voter approval of legalizing recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 and older: How Manchester, Lakehurst Voted On NJ's Marijuana Question

Around town

The Manchester Township Council is scheduled to meet Monday at 6 p.m. in the township municipal building. As of Sunday, the meeting was scheduled to be held in person but residents should check the township website for updates.

There will be a Veterans Day Service at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the monument at Manchester's Town Hall. People are reminded to observe social distancing, Mayor Ken Palmer said on his Facebook livestream on Oct. 30.

The council has a special meeting scheduled for 10:50 a.m. Nov. 16 to readopt Bond Ordinance 20-036 and the corresponding resolution authorizing the township's chief financial officer to issue bonds. The meeting will be held in the court room at the municipal building.

Also:

• Woman Dies In Beckerville Road Crash In Manchester
• Man Assaulted Woman At Manchester Campground: Police
• Manchester Man Charged In Drug-Trafficking Ring: Prosecutor

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