[Mendhamtwpwebupdates] Press Release: Morris County to Reopen No-Cost COVID-19 Testing at County College

COUNTY OF MORRIS Office of Communications & Digital Media [cid:8af2deba-29cf-4521-8110-57ca1834c325] PRESS RELEASE: Jan. 7, 2022 For Immediate Release Morris County to Reopen No-Cost COVID-19 Testing at County College Tests to be Provided by Appointment Only at Walk-Up Facility Inside Student Center Morris County’s Board of County Commissioners today announced the county will resume no-cost, COVID-19 testing inside the Student Center at the County College of Morris (CCM) on Monday to help meet a soaring demand. Testing is available by appointment only. No one will be permitted to walk into the facility without an appointment, and appointments must be scheduled on-line through the Morris County COVID-19 Information website<https://www.morriscountynj.gov/Residents/Health/Coronavirus/Get-…st>. The center will be open seven days per week and appointments will be available between 7 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., except for a half hour between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. “We are meeting the increased demand of our residents for more testing facilities, and we want to take a tremendous burden off local hospitals where emergency room personnel have been overwhelmed by people walking in hoping to find tests,” said Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw. Saint Clare’s Health and Morristown Medical Center/Atlantic Health System have noted that a Morris County testing center at CCM will relieve emergency department pressures. “Our strategic planning committee had discussed the need for testing recently, and despite tight supplies and limited resources we are pleased the county was able to launch this initiative. Hopefully the sharp increases in cases is plateauing, and we will have as sharp a decline,” said Commissioner John Krickus, referring to the board’s COVID-19 Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, of which he is a member. Testing Center Morris County and the County College of Morris will again collaborate with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office to operate the testing facility in the same Student Center location where the county operated its testing center last year. Instead of a saliva test, the center will employ the LabQ Diagnostics nasal-swab PCR tests. HQ Health, which is the new LabQ brand name for the company’s suite of comprehensive and complete healthcare services, opened a new, 100,000 square foot center in Mount Olive last May. Among other operations, the center will manage four other national data centers for LabQ and employ more than 1,000 people locally. Because of the massive demand on testing throughout the nation, people looking to be tested are being advised that receiving results may take considerably longer than the usually advertised timetable of 24 hours to 48 hours. People who schedule a test will not be charged for the service, but will be asked to provide information about whether they have health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare or no healthcare coverage. Individuals with symptoms or who have a known exposure to COVID-19 should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for isolation or quarantine until they receive their test results. Please monitor the COVID-19 information page on the Morris County website<https://health.morriscountynj.gov/coronavirus/#testing> to learn of any changes in the testing schedule at CCM or updates on other testing programs and the pandemic. “We’ve met the pandemic head on since it began. Last year we set up the most successful vaccination center in the state at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, as well as a testing center. With this recent rise in cases, we are launching the testing center again with the same vigor and level of tenacity as before,” said Commissioner Thomas Mastrangelo, a liaison to the county Department of Law & Public Safety. “The County College of Morris is always ready to support the county in any way, and we are willing and proud to assist with this endeavor,” said CCM President Anthony J. Iacono. Directions and Precautions Parking at CCM for people with appointments will be reserved in Lot 6, where individuals using public transportation to and from CCM also may board or disembark from a bus. To find directions to CCM and learn more about public transportation options to and from the campus, please go to the CCM website<https://www.ccm.edu/directions/>s/>. Everyone arriving at the campus is required to wear a protective face covering or mask from the time of arrival in the parking lot to the moment of departure.