Toms river is new epicenter of post-thanksgiving covid-19 outbreak in ocean county, according to ochd figures

TOMS RIVER, NJ – The spread of COVID-19 has shifted again in Ocean County in the week since Thanksgiving. In September, Lakewood Township saw a large surge in cases in the immediate aftermath of the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Lakewood saw 454 new cases in the 7 day period after the Jewish holidays. Now, in the aftermath of Thanksgiving weekend, both Toms River and Brick Township outpace Lakewood. According to Ocean County Health Department records, Toms River is now the new epicenter of the virus countywide.

Get the Latest Toms River News Here.

In the aftermath of the Lakewood outbreak, Governor Phil Murphy deployed contact tracers, more testing capabilities, and a COVID-19 liaison team to help get that community’s outbreak under control. So far, Murphy has not mentioned any additional measures for the rest of Ocean County, now experiencing a similar post-holiday surge. On Sunday, the Ocean County Health Department accounted for another 357 cases in the county. On Saturday, 340 new cases were reported for a weekend total of 697 new cases.

Of those cases reported since Friday, 199 were in Toms River, 142 were in Brick Township and 120 were reported in Lakewood, making Toms River the new COVID-19 epicenter of the county in the post-Thanksgiving holiday county. Last week, Toms River Mayor Mo Hill continued promoting employee appreciation certificates at town hall on the township’s Facebook page and has yet to issue a statement on the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in the community. On Sunday, Toms River reported 92 cases, the highest single-day total in the township since the pandemic began in March.

Find out what is going on with Toms River Mayor Mo Hill here.

Last week, the Toms River Regional School District moved to an all-remote school model but is planning on returning to a hybrid model on December 7th, according to Superintendent Dan Healy. Originally, the hybrid model was to start on November 14th, but Healy and the school board, on November 30th announced the new date.

“The COVID-19 Activity Level Report currently lists our area as High Risk. This designation requests consideration of an all-remote learning environment, and it was our determination last week that going all-remote would help ensure the safety of our community in the context of an upward trend in positive cases,” Healy said. “We believe our cautious approach was the right one, placing us in a stronger position to re-implement hybrid, in-person learning. If, however, our “Central East” area moves to the Very High-Risk designation, we may likely be required to transition back to remote learning districtwide.”

Ocean County COVID-19 positives November 27th through December 4th, 2020:

Toms River	274
Brick	256
Lakewood	206
Jackson	187
Manchester	158
Berkeley	117
Stafford	102
Lacey	80
Point Pleasant Borough	68
Barnegat	60

Photo: Stock Photo, Mo Hill Virus.

https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2020/12/04/state-continues-investigation-into-political-corruption-in-toms-river-mo-hill-hr-manager-lou-amoruso/

Shore News Network Staff Report Latest posts

Shore News Network Staff Report is the official newsroom byline used by Shore News Network when a story is produced through the collaborative work of multiple members of the editorial team rather than a single reporter.

This newsroom account is reserved for articles that involve contributions from multiple journalists, editors, photographers, researchers, or news desk staff. It is also used for developing stories that are updated as new verified information becomes available, as well as for community announcements, weather coverage, public safety alerts, election results, and other newsroom-produced content.

Every article published under the Shore News Network Staff Report byline is reviewed and edited in accordance with the organization's editorial standards for accuracy, fairness, attribution, and transparency. Information is verified through official government agencies, court records, law enforcement, public documents, direct reporting, interviews, and other reliable primary and secondary sources before publication whenever possible.

The Staff Report account does not use artificial intelligence to independently generate news or publish unverified information. AI-assisted tools may occasionally be used for editorial support tasks such as transcription, formatting, grammar review, or workflow efficiency, but all published content is subject to human editorial oversight and approval by Shore News Network's newsroom staff.

As an independently owned digital news organization, Shore News Network is committed to original reporting, public safety journalism, government accountability, local community coverage, and breaking news throughout New Jersey and surrounding regions. Stories published under the Staff Report byline reflect the collective experience and editorial judgment of the Shore News Network newsroom.

Readers who have corrections, additional information, or news tips related to a Staff Report article are encouraged to contact the newsroom at news@shorenewsnetwork.com. Shore News Network welcomes factual corrections and updates as part of its commitment to accurate, transparent journalism.