Jersey City Offers COVID-19 Testing to ALL Residents; Antibody Tests Coming Soon

Part of the roadmap to recovery for New Jersey is to conduct widespread testing for COVID-19.

To that end, Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop has announced the availability of expanded and targeting testing for ALL Jersey City residents.  As part of the new initiative, mobile testing will be brought directly to residents in senior living housing and public housing sites for convenient access and to minimize exposure via mass transit use.

With a population of over 265,000, the latest numbers indicate Jersey City has 5,329 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, with 285 fatalities.

Furthermore, Jersey City will soon become one of the first to offer antibody testing. These efforts are being taken to move cautiously toward enabling residents and businesses start the recovery process.

“Absent a vaccine or treatment, testing is currently one of the few proven effective ways to slow and track the spread of this virus, which is why we’ve taken the initiative to be aggressive in our approach to protect our residents,” said Mayor Fulop.  “We’re at a point where 7 weeks into this we have a better understanding and our residents can use their test results responsibly to slow the pace and reduce risks not only for their immediate friends and family, but also for the community overall.”

Over the past month Jersey City has tested over 8,000 people free of charge—including symptomatic residents, frontline workers, first responders, supermarket employees, as well as nursing home residents and staff.

“As one of the most densely populated areas in the region, our efforts to make free testing available has proven effective,” said Stacey Flanagan, Director of Health and Human Services.  “Now we want to extend testing to as many people as possible, and adding antibody testing will really bolster the expansive health and safety efforts we’ve put in place since day one.”

image via City of Jersey City

Appointments are required, and available to any Jersey City residents beginning next week. Call the COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 201-547-5535 seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Testing will continue Monday through Friday at the drive-through site located in the southwest portion of the city at 575 NJ-440.

Walk-up testing site will operate on the rotating schedule below:

Mondays & Wednesdays – Outside Public Safety Headquarters located at 465 Marin Boulevard

Tuesdays – Mobile testing at various Jersey City Housing Authority locations

Thursdays – Mobile testing at various senior living facilities

Fridays – Mary McLeod Bethune Community Center located at 140 MLK Drive

“Expanding testing is crucial as we work towards moving our city forward to allow people and the economy to start recovering,” concluded Mayor Fulop.

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