State officials say that they remain concerned about COVID-19 transmission rates in Ocean County as the state marks another day of over 700 new positive cases of the virus.

Health officials reported 722 new cases on Wednesday, along with nine additional deaths. They say that the rate of transmission for the state was up slightly to 1.15%.

Of the 722 new cases, 134 of them are in Lakewood.

“As of [Sept. 26], Ocean County reported a positivity rate of 5.44%,” said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. “As I stated, most of their new cases are in Lakewood. Lakewood, as of the 26th, has a positivity rate of 27%. We are working closely with the Lakewood community and religious leaders to increase our testing at the health centers in the region and to promote safeguarding initiatives throughout the town.”

Gov. Phil Murphy says he and health officials will be visiting Lakewood on Friday to assess the situation further.