Barnegat Police Chief Addresses Townwide Increase In COVID Cases

BARNEGAT, NJ — Barnegat Police Chief Keith Germain addressed the townwide increase in COVID-19 cases during a Facebook Live session on Wednesday.

Positive cases have trended upward in recent weeks and Germain expects the uptick to continue.

“Just like every other place in New Jersey, our cases are certainly up over the last week. They’re higher in the past week than they were a few weeks before that," he said. "I suspect we’ll see that continue for a little while.”

According to the Ocean County Department of Health, Barnegat reported 1,560 cases on March 5, a 50-case increase from the week before. Three weeks later, the town reported 1,770 cases on March 26, an 81-case jump over the previous week.

Germain said the police department has also seen an increase in cases among officers.

Captain Jason Carroll told Patch that four officers tested positive for COVID-19 in March. Before last month, seven officers had tested positive since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In a year there were only seven cases and then all of a sudden four in a month. Societally, the numbers are going up,” Carroll said. “I think people are getting more confident because they’re vaccinated...There is a spike in the state and country. It’s just relative here.”

Despite the sudden increase in cases, Germain said it has not impacted staffing levels in the department.

“We’ve got great protocols in place. We don’t have any impact on staffing and very fortunately our officers who have gotten COVID have recovered without any serious problems,” he said.

According to Carroll, 21 officers have received the COVID-19 vaccination as of Monday afternoon, which is nearly half of the department’s 51-person staff.

Germain and Mayor Al Bille have made preparations with the school district to set up a vaccination center in Barnegat if the county’s vaccine supply increases.

“We’re in the same holding pattern, which is there simply isn’t enough vaccine available to the county for them to stand up anything in addition to what they already have,” he said “Everything we need to stand something here for our residents to make it easier and convenient for those who want to get it, it’s here.”

Related: COVID-19 Vaccination Sites In Ocean County

Barnegat has reported 1,860 cases and 51 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic as of Tuesday at 2 p.m., according to the Ocean County Department of Health.

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email kimberlee.bongard@patch.com.