Gov. Phil Murphy and state health officials held a roundtable discussion with Ocean County leaders to discuss the rising number of cases of COVID-19 in the county.

The positivity rate in Ocean County is just under 16%, according to health officials – with 190 new cases reported on Friday. Of those cases, 126 of them are in Lakewood.

“There is not a single event that is associated with the increase in cases,” said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. “But as you know, there have been large religious observances over the past several weeks that may have resulted in prolonged close contact and there have been some reports of large gatherings.”

Ocean County and Lakewood in particular have a large Orthodox Jewish population and the last few weeks have seen two major Jewish holidays. But local leaders and the governor cautioned the public about turning the rise in cases into anti-Semitic attacks, stating that COVID-19 can affect anyone.

The health commissioner said that more testing sites will become available in Ocean County. She asked anyone who may have been exposed to the virus to participate in contact tracing.