The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A temporary drive-through coronavirus testing site for Somerset and Hunterdon counties will be opened April 16 at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg.
The site will be initially open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 16, 17 and 20, according to a press release from the Somerset County Freeholders.
Additional dates for the site will be announced, pending the acquisition of more testing kits and personal protective equipment, the release said.
To be tested, Somerset and Hunterdon county residents must have a valid prescription or doctor’s order, and must make an appointment, according to the release.
The free testing is available to Hunterdon and Somerset County residents, age five and older, who are exhibiting symptoms, such as fever, dry cough and shortness of breath, the release said. At the test site, individuals must have a written doctor’s authorization and show proof of residency, such as a valid driver’s license or state-issued identification, according to the release.
You must be in a car to be tested.
Residents can make an appointment by visiting https://somerset-hunterdon.adlabscovidtest.com, where they will complete a registration form and upload the prescription from their doctor. Residents without access to a computer can call (908) 237-7150. Appointments can start to be made after 9 a.m. April 14, according to the release.
“Setting up a testing site for the health and safety of our residents has been the Somerset County Freeholder Board’s #1 priority,” Freeholder Director Shanel Y. Robinson said in the release. “The Board, administration and staff have been working nonstop for weeks to secure the necessary test kits and PPE supplies.”
“The competition between county, state and federal authorities has delayed the opening of this site and put Somerset County residents at risk,” Robinson said in the release. “We want to thank Congressman Tom Malinowski for his efforts to obtain the necessary equipment needed to get this site operational for Somerset and Hunterdon County residents.”
An order for 35,000 masks made by the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management was confiscated by federal officials on the day it was supposed to be delivered to the county.
“I am advised that coupled with social distancing practices, accurate detection and containment of the Coronavirus is the best chance to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of this virus,” Hunterdon County Freeholder Director Shaun C. Van Doren said in the release. “We thank our health department staff, volunteers and Somerset County partners for cooperatively setting up this joint testing site to protect the residents of Hunterdon and Somerset counties.”
“We are not going to beat this virus until we have widespread access to testing, so I’m happy we were able to work together to set up this site for Somerset and Hunterdon residents,” Malinowski said in the release. “But it’s still too hard for our state and local governments to get the basic protective equipment our medical personnel need. I’m going to keep demanding that the federal government fix the national supply chain.”
For more information, contactcoronavirus@co.somerset.nj.us.
