Ocean City Schools Report 11 Coronavirus Cases So Far This Fall

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Ocean City School District has reported 11 coronavirus cases since the beginning of the school year, according to officials. In that span, 114 students and staff have been placed on quarantine status as close or direct contacts.

The Center for Disease Control changed its definition of "close contact" least week to someone who spent 15 minutes or more during a 24-hour period within 6 feet of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Previously, the CDC defined close contact as someone spending a solid 15 minutes within 6 feet of someone with the virus.

The CDC advises anyone who has been in close contact with a coronavirus patient to quarantine for two weeks.

Since the beginning of the school year, officials have identified six cases at Ocean City High School and five at the Intermediate School. No cases have been identified at the Primary School.

But in that time, 81 students and staff from the high school, 23 from intermediate school and 10 from primary school have been placed into quarantine status since the start of the school year.

Ocean City began the year with a hybrid schedule in which most students physically attend school two days per week. Families can also select completely remote learning for their children.

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The district began publicly reporting its coronavirus data Oct. 30, as cases steadily increased around Cape May County and New Jersey.

See the 30-day trend in Cape May County below:

The Cape May County Health Department has reported 36 active cases in Ocean City as of Monday, along with 144 people cleared off quarantine and three deaths from the virus.

County-wide, the CMCHD has reported 265 active cases, 1,520 people cleared off quarantine and 96 deaths.

The New Jersey Department of Health has reported three coronavirus outbreaks in Cape May County school so far this fall. Publicly available state data does not clarify in which schools outbreaks have 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.

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