Lacey District Reports Coronavirus Case At Middle School

LACEY, NJ — An individual at Lacey Township Middle School tested positive for the coronavirus, officials reported Wednesday. The Lacey Township School District began in-person classes Sept. 21 through a hybrid model.

Officials have finished cleaning and disinfecting all exposed areas, according to a letter District Supervisor William Zylinski sent to parents.

"The school is also taking precautions to prevent the introduction and spread of viruses and other germs and is cleaning frequently touched surfaces daily," Zylinski said. "The status of this situation is fluid, and we are monitoring it closely."

Officials didn't say whether a student or staff member was infected. The district is coordinating with public health officials.

Lacey schools started the year with remote learning before moving to a hybrid model Sept. 21.

Ocean County has added more than 3,000 cases since Aug. 31, when the county had 10,483 people who were positive for the coronavirus, according to the Ocean County Health Department. As of Wednesday, there were 13,608 cases.

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Much of the increase has come from Lakewood, which accounts for more than 1,200 of the 2,100 new Ocean County cases in the past three weeks. Read more: Lakewood's Coronavirus Positivity Rate Hits 27 Percent

Lacey, however, has only seen 13 reported cases and no new deaths since Sept. 22. The OCHD has reported 398 total cases and nine deaths in Lacey as of Thursday morning.

State officials have reported one outbreak in Ocean County schools as of Monday but didn't clarify where it occurred. "Outbreaks" indicate two or more laboratory-confirmed cases among students or staff within a 14-day period. They must be epidemiologically linked in the school setting, not share a household and not identify as close contacts of each other in another setting.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

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