Morris County's COVID Testing Center To Reopen Due To 'Soaring Demand'

RANDOLPH, NJ — Prompted by "soaring demand," Morris County will reopen its free COVID-19 testing center Monday at the County College of Morris's Student Center.

Testing is available only by appointment, which must be scheduled on Morris County's COVID-19 information webpage. County officials warned that receiving results may take longer than the advertised 24-28 hours after testing because of the massive demand for COVID tests throughout the nation.

The center will be open seven days per week, with appointments available from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., except between 12:30-1 p.m. The site will operate "until its need is reduced," said county spokesperson Brian Murray.

COVID-19 cases and the demand for tests have surged in New Jersey amid the recent holiday season and spread of the more-contagious omicron variant. The New Jersey Department of Health reported an average of 29,472 new daily cases from Dec. 30 to Wednesday.

Early demands of the pandemic and the vaccination rollout prompted public-private partnerships to form for large-scale testing and vaccination. Morris County initially opened a testing site at the County College of Morris in fall 2020, where hundreds of people could receive tests per day.

Additionally, Morris County and Atlantic Health System partnered to form one of the state's six COVID vaccination megasites, which opened last January in the vacant Sears of the Rockaway Townsquare Mall.

But in the case of tests and vaccinations, both became more accessible and demand waned. As a result, Morris County closed its vaccine megasite and testing center in July.

The rapid spread of the omicron variant, however, has created more cases and sharply increased the demand for COVID tests. Morris County officials hope to alleviate the testing demands at local hospitals that offer tests.

“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 County Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw.

Saint Clare’s Health and Morristown Medical Center/Atlantic Health System noted to officials that a Morris County testing center will relieve emergency-department pressures.

“Our strategic planning committee had discussed the need for testing recently," County Commissioner John Krickus said of the COVID-19 Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, of which he's a member. "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."

Increase In Cases

New Jersey officials confirmed an omicron case for the first time Dec. 3. Since then, the Garden State has reported some of the nation's highest positivity rates — the percentage of tests that come back positive for COVID-19.

The state reported the nation's third-highest positivity rate in the past week, with 87.6 percent of tests coming back positive, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Positivity rates can be reduced by decreasing transmission and increasing testing.

The state health department reported 5,621 confirmed or suspected COVID patients in hospitals as of Thursday — New Jersey's highest total since April 30, 2020.

New Jersey's COVID-19 deaths have slightly increased, as the state's seven-day average for fatalities from the virus went from 14 on Nov. 30 to 45 on Thursday.

About the Morris County Testing Center

Morris County, the County College of Morris and the Morris County Sheriff's Office will again collaborate to operate the testing facility in the same location as before — the college's Student Center.

The center will conduct LabQ Diagnostics nasal-swab PCR tests instead of saliva tests.

Those who schedule a test will not be charged, but they'll be asked to provide information on whether they have health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare or are uninsured.

Parking at the County College of Morris for people with appointments will be reserved in Lot 6, where people using public transportation to and from CCM also may board or disembark from a bus. To find directions to the college and learn more about public transportation options to and from the campus, visit the CCM website.

Everyone arriving at the campus must wear a protective face covering or ask from their arrival in the parking lot to their moment of departure.

Need to find a COVID-19 test or vaccination site? Visit the New Jersey Department of Health's vaccine appointment finder and test site finder.

Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of the illness, some experience conditions known as long COVID or long-haul COVID, according to the CDC. Learn more about long COVID at the CDC's post-COVID conditions page.

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