A private school in Lakewood has switched over to remote learning after several students and faculty were exposed to COVID-19.

The Bnos Esther Malka girls' elementary school held instructions over the telephone on Tuesday and will continue Wednesday before going on a religious holiday break for several days.

School officials tell News 12 New Jersey that they previously instituted numerous measures to keep students and staff safe, including keeping individual classes separated from others and closing the lunchroom. The playground was divided into small sections for use by the classes and extensive sanitizing was done on a regular basis.

Lakewood has seen more than 1,000 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last two weeks – an uptick that has concerned Gov. Phil Murphy and state health officials. The Ocean County Health Department has also noted a slight increase in hospitalizations during this time.

Public schools in the township remain open, using a full-time, in-person schedule.