Dozens show up at urgent care facility for coronavirus testing

Dozens of people went to an urgent care facility in Neptune City on Wednesday for coronavirus testing.

News 12 Staff

Mar 19, 2020, 2:52 AM

Updated 1,662 days ago

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Dozens of people went to an urgent care facility in Neptune City on Wednesday for coronavirus testing.
There was a line of cars wrapped around the urgent care center, which is run by Hackensack Meridian Health. The wait time was about two hours for a health care worker – dressed in protective gear and mask – to make their way to each patient’s car window to examine them.
Felicia Jordan and her mother were two of the patients.
“It’s really not that pleasant and it’s pretty invasive,” she says.
The test includes a nasal and throat swab. Jordan says that it was a test that she thought was necessary because the thought of contracting the virus is always on her mind.
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“Just the whole coronavirus in itself kind of makes you nervous,” she says. “So, you just always want to be sure.”
Hackensack Meridian Health tells News 12 New Jersey that urgent care centers are not COVID-19 swabbing stations. But a spokesperson says, "The urgent care centers can evaluate patients and swab patients for COVID-19, but only if those individuals meet the criteria outlined by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.]”
The spokesperson also says that anyone heading to an urgent care facility is asked to call ahead first before going.
Two mass drive-through testing sites are soon set to open at Bergen Community College and PNC Arts Center.
This comes as there is a call out for donations of masks for those in the medical community.
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“We’re looking for N-95 [respirator] masks. We’ve collected 71 of them today,” says Manasquan Councilman Rick Read.
Reed and members of the Office of Emergency Management were outside Manasquan High School collecting masks which will go directly to the crews at Jersey Shore Medical Center and to first responders. The collection for the masks will continue from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. through Saturday.
Call the Neptune OEM with any questions.