By Allison Perrine
New Jersey residents without symptoms of the COVID-19 virus may soon have access to testing, officials discussed Wednesday afternoon, including at the site at the PNC Bank Arts Center testing site.
While the decision to expand testing is ultimately up to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that there is an absolute need to test more state residents than just those who present symptoms, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.
“We have to be able to test a broader population, not just symptomatic folks, and it needs to be a rapid return test,” said Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday afternoon. “It’s not just the amount of tests you’re doing, it’s getting them back a lot faster than historically we’ve been able to get them back.”
As of Wednesday, there were 95,865 total positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey, with a total of 5,063 related deaths. The state now has 86 testing sites, making it the fourth-most tested state in the U.S., Murphy said. The state also purchased and received 500 additional ventilators Tuesday, in preparation for a potential spike in new cases once the state reopens.
Specifically, in Monmouth County, there were 5,086 cases as of Wednesday. That includes Atlantic Highlands, 20; Colts Neck, 57; Fair Haven, 20; Highlands, 20; Holmdel, 158; Little Silver, 28; Middletown, 383; Monmouth Beach, 18; Oceanport, 43; Red Bank, 103; Rumson, 30; Sea Bright, seven; and Tinton Falls, 114.
“Our No. 1 mission remains unchanged – to save lives,” said Murphy.
Hoping to get a better understanding of who the individuals are who have contracted the virus, Murphy signed legislation Wednesday requiring hospitals to report the ages, races and ethnicities of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, those who have been admitted to the hospital and those who have died.
Hospitals are also required to record the number of people who tried to get tested but were unsuccessful. According to Murphy, of the statewide fatalities, African American numbers are “consistently” 50 percent higher than the overall representation in the state.
The information collected will be made public and will be reported daily by the state Department of Health.
“This information will be critical for us to fully understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on our diverse communities. As we can already tell from our preliminary data… this emergency has had an outsized impact on our communities of color,” Murphy said.
As Congress prepares a second round of COVID-19 support packages for eligible citizens, totaling nearly $500 billion, Murphy expressed disappointment that it will not support states directly.
“While we are grateful, and we are, for the additional relief and assistance that this bill will provide for our small businesses and our hospitals, and for the support it will give for testing regimes… I cannot overlook the fact that it is absent of any direct assistance to the state, or any state,” said Murphy. “We are dealing with an unprecedented health crisis that will be followed by an unprecedented fiscal crisis, one that experts believe will dwarf the Great Recession.”
Earlier in the week, April 16, Murphy, a father of four, announced an extended closure of schools at least through Friday, May 15, four weeks longer than previously announced. The closure includes schools and affiliated sports teams.
“I know this is hard. It’s hard on all of us. I’ve got a senior in college. His graduation ceremonies have been canceled. It’s hard,” said Murphy. “But if we all keep pulling and working together, I hope that it will put me in a position, in a month’s time, to make a different announcement. There is no doubt we are saving lives and we must maintain the course.”
This article originally appeared in the April 23rd, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
