Mercer County Now Testing Asymptomatic Patients For Coronavirus

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Mercer County residents who are asymptomatic of coronavirus can now be tested for the disease, officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

Residents still need a doctor’s prescription and must schedule an appointment, but testing was previously limited only to those who showed symptoms.

The county testing site recently moved from the Quaker Bridge Mall to the parking lot across from 640 South Broad St., Trenton, where the County Administration Building is located, two-tenths of a mile south of CURE Insurance Arena. The county also operates appointment-only, walk-up testing sites in Trenton and Hightstown.

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“We want to be able to test more people, so we're opening it up to asymptomatic residents provided they have a prescription,” Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said. “If you believe you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms, you can now get tested at our sites.”

Testing will be provided for Mercer County residents age 18 or older who have an appointment. Anyone who wants to be tested should contact their primary health care practitioner. If a test is needed, the doctor will fax a prescription to the Mercer County health call center at 609-630-4031, and the center will schedule an appointment.

Anyone who lacks transportation to get to the drive-up testing site will be offered an appointment at a walk-up site along with instructions on when and where to go. The Trenton walk-up sites are open in each city ward one day a week. The Hightstown site is open Fridays at noon in the parking lot of St. Anthony of Padua Church, 156 Maxwell Ave.

Anyone who doesn’t have a doctor can call the Henry J. Austin Health Center at 609-278-5900 to see if testing is needed. They can arrange a conversation with a doctor by phone or video. Henry J. Austin will serve all patients, including those without health insurance. There is no charge for the test at Mercer County testing sites.

Those who show up at a testing site without an appointment will not be able to be tested. For more information about testing, call 609-337-4081 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Español, call 609-436-5038 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The testing sites are collaborative efforts between the County of Mercer, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, Capital Health System, St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, the Trenton Health Team, Henry J. Austin Health Center and the City of Trenton.