Nearly 2 dozen lifeguards in New Jersey test positive for coronavirus after hosting social gatherings

• More than 20 lifeguards on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, tested positive for COVID-19.
• Allegedly, the lifeguards —11 lifeguards from Harvey Cedars and 12 from Surf City — held two social gatherings on July 12 and 14.
• The mayor of Harvey Cedars said it is unclear where the events took place or what they entailed, but the lifeguards will not be back to work until they are cleared by a doctor.
• Experts are warning about a resurgence in coronavirus cases that is spreading upward from the South, where states have been the hardest hit, to northern states like Delaware and New Jersey.

Two dozen lifeguards have tested positive for COVID-19 on Long Beach Island in New Jersey after hosting two social gatherings two weeks ago.

Since July 18, 11 lifeguards from Harvey Cedars and 12 from Surf City — both of which located on Long Beach Island — have received positive test results.

"The health department started receiving reports of COVID-19 activity among Surf City lifeguards on Saturday, July 18 and Harvey Cedars lifeguards on Sunday, July 19," Daniel J. Krupinski, the Long Beach Island Health Department director, told WHYY. "We have reason to believe the case activity stems from common social gatherings outside of work on July 12 and 14."

Mayor Jonathan Oldham of Harvey Cedars told NJ.com that he does not know where the social events took place or what exactly they entailed.

"I just heard that they were together, exactly where they were or what it was, I'm not sure, but I'm under the understanding that they were together at an event," Oldham said.

The lifeguards will not be back to work until cleared by doctors.

Experts are warning about a resurgence in coronavirus cases that is spreading upward from the South, where states have been the hardest hit, to northern states.

"It's not just Florida. It's not just South Carolina. It's not just North Carolina," David Rubin, PolicyLab's director, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania told NPR, pointing to beach areas in Virginia and Delaware. "We're starting to see upticks in the shore regions of New Jersey."