County Opens COVID Test Sites In West Orange, Roseland, C. Grove

Eric Kiefer
·3 min read

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Responding to massive demand at its drive-thru coronavirus testing site in Newark, Essex County is opening three “satellite” sites in West Orange, Roseland and Cedar Grove.

County officials said the three new testing sites will start operating next week. Each new site will be open to drive-in and walk-up appointments. They will offer saliva-based testing from 4 to 6 p.m. at the following locations:

  • Thursday, May 21 - Essex Golf Center, 600 Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland (200 appointments will be available)

  • Tuesday, May 26 - Essex County Public Works-Fleet Maintenance, 99 West Bradford Avenue, Cedar Grove (200 appointments will be available)

  • Thursday, May 28 - Essex County Richard J. Codey Arena, 560 Northfield Avenue, West Orange (250 appointments will be available)

County officials said additional dates at the three new sites will be announced in the future.

The tests are by appointment only, and are being offered to Essex County residents free of charge. Residents are encouraged to get retested if they have taken the swab or saliva tests 14 days ago or more and have received negative test results.

Additional details include:

“Testing is available to all Essex County residents whether they are showing symptoms of the virus or are asymptomatic. Residents are encouraged to get retested if they have taken the swab or saliva tests 14 days ago or more and have received negative test results. To make an appointment, residents should visit www.EssexCOVID.org or call 973-324-9950. They will be required to complete a short questionnaire. When finished, they will be provided with an appointment time and a confirmation number. Residents should bring the confirmation number with them. They are asked to arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment. Residents taking the COVID-19 saliva test should not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum 30 minutes prior to arrival.”

In addition to the new sites in West Orange, Roseland and Cedar Grove, the drive-thru-only testing center at Weequahic Park in Newark will continue to operate, and will continue to offer nasal swab testing.

To make an appointment, residents should visit www.EssexCOVID.org or call 973-324-9950.

The Weequahic Park testing site will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on the following days, with additional dates to be added in June:

  • Wednesday, May 20

  • Wednesday, May 27

  • Friday, May 22

  • Friday, May 29

Demand at the Weequahic Park site has been steep. County officials said that 4,901 tests have been administered there as of May 12, with 1,839 of those tests turning out positive.

As of Monday, Essex County has the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in New Jersey with 1,550, and the third-highest number of positive cases with 16,712. Only Bergen and Hudson counties had more positive cases than Essex.

“Our fight against this deadly disease is far from over and we must remain vigilant and aggressive to combat it,” said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., who recently overcame his own bout with the coronavirus.

“Testing is a critical tool that will tell us exactly how widespread the virus is and who has been infected,” DiVincenzo said.

Essex County Freeholder President Brendan Gill agreed that more testing is “crucial” to stopping the spread of the virus.

“Our satellite testing sites will be of significant help in this regard,” Gill said.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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This article originally appeared on the West Orange Patch