Morris Co. COVID Test Site To Close This Week Due To Decline In Test Requests

RANDOLPH, NJ — As the coronavirus's presence continues to decline from the omicron wave's peak, Morris County will soon close its COVID-19 testing facility. The site at the County College of Morris will shutter March 11 "due to a continuing decline in public requests for tests," the county government said.

Morris County initially opened the testing center in 2020, offering hundreds of tests per day. But declining demand prompted the county to close the site in July.

The county, however, reopened the facility in early January as the omicron variant's presence peaked and demand for COVID-19 tests soared.

"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," County Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw said when the site reopened.

The facility offered nearly 1,000 tests daily, but the virus's local and statewide presence has significantly diminished since. Morris County hit a pandemic high of 1,775 new cases Jan. 7 but has only averaged 45.7 infections per day in the past week, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.

Click here to make an appointment at the Morris County site or to find other local testing centers.

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