MONMOUTH COUNTY – Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Friday afternoon that a Holmdel-based testing site for COVID-19 will be up and running Monday morning, March 23.
The announcement first came Friday morning during a live-streamed press conference hosted by Monmouth County officials Friday morning. At that time, Sheriff Shaun Golden introduced the plan for the site, which will be located at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Until Monday morning, it is closed to the public. He advised that people not drive to the Arts Center at Garden State Parkway Exit 116.
Additionally, Golden estimated that there would be two urgent care centers, approved by the state Department of Health, for appointment-only testing of COVID-19, up to 200 tests per day. The county will release those urgent care addresses, he said.
Currently, emergency rooms in county-area hospitals are open. But to prepare for future surges in COVID-19 cases, tents will be erected at various hospitals. This is a precautionary measure, Golden said.
Sen. Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso said they “lobbied hard” to get one of the two state testing facilities in the area. On Thursday, they met with people at the site involved in its operation, including members of the state Police, FEMA, state Department of Health, the Army Corps of Engineers and site and construction managers for PNC.
“The value of a centralized testing location cannot be overstated; it will seriously help alleviate a strain on our hospital systems and aid in the safety of patients as well as personnel. This testing is coming soon and will hopefully be open for screening in a few days. We want to assure all of our residents that we are making progress and have secured FEMA and state commitment to having a top-notch, high volume testing site in Monmouth County,” according to the statement.
As of Friday morning, March 20, there are 44 positive cases of the novel coronavirus in Monmouth County, which includes four members of one Freehold family. With that in mind, county officials announced the signing of a Monmouth County Declaration of Emergency. The action follows the state and national declarations of emergency, as well as local declarations in the Two River area.
Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone called the pandemic “unique” and disastrous. That stands for residents and businesses. “We hope we never see this again. We’ve been through many disasters here, as I’ve stated, through Sandy, through 9/11, through Irene and here,” he said Friday. “And each and every one – detrimental and devastating as they all are – we’re addressing one head-on right now.”
