Ocean County Acquires More Tests, Will Extend Coronavirus Drive-Thru Site Another Week

A drive-through testing facility at Ocean County College, March 30, 2020. (Photo: Ocean County)

Ocean County has acquired additional testing kits and will keep its drive-through coronavirus testing site open for a third week.

Tests during the week of April 13 at the drive thru testing site at Ocean County College will be offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the county announced Thursday afternoon.

“The testing has gone very smoothly and all the agencies working there have gone above and beyond to make sure those giving the tests are safe and the public receiving the rests are also protected,” said Freeholder Joe Vicari.

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Appointments are scheduled in advance and available to Ocean County residents only. The site is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting. So far, 1,513 Ocean County citizens have been tested for coronavirus at the site. Appointments are still available for Friday, April 10.

“We are meeting the testing needs of our residents and will reduce the number of test days to three at the college,” said Ocean County Public Health Coordinator Daniel Regenye. “Should the need exist we will open up to five days again.”

Because of the limited number of tests the county has, it still remains imperative that people follow the requirements to be tested at the college, he said.

“We do not want anyone to show up at this testing site without following the requirements we have put in place,” said Regenye. “We are not going to do any health screenings at the site. It is just for testing for the virus.”

Ocean County Health Department officials are reminding residents of the requirements to be tested include:

• You must be an Ocean County resident and have identification.
• You must have a healthcare practitioner script.
• You must make an online appointment at ochd.org.
• You must be symptomatic.
• You should enter the Ocean County College campus from the Hooper Avenue entrance.

Regenye said that any practitioner (including Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Nurse, Medical Doctor, Physician Assistant etc.) who has “prescriptive” privileges in New Jersey can write a script for COVID-19 testing, it does not necessarily have to be a physician.

Several offices affiliated with local hospital systems offer telemedicine options, including:

• Hackensack Meridian Health (Ocean Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center): https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/covid19/
• RWJ Barnabas Healthcare System (Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus/Kimball): RWJBHtelemed.org and use code RWJBH15.

Once the test has been performed, it’s anticipated to take about three to five days for results to be returned.

All the results will be available on the BioReference Laboratories Patient Portal, located at: Bioreference.com/patients/ and through the Ocean County Health Department, residents will be notified whether they test positive or negative.

The most common symptoms of COVID 19 are fever, fatigue, a dry cough and shortness of breath.