The Board of Commissioners continues to expand testing capacity in the new year as demand continues to be extremely high and there has been significant increase in Covid-19 cases across the region. Today, the Board will announce at least two new locations where the Department of Health will be administering the saliva test being utilized at the Camden County Health Hub. In addition, based on the size of the facility and operational inadequacies to meet the high volume of testing demands, the Bellmawr Health Clinic will no longer be a testing location.
“As we move forward into the new year testing is going to be vital and expanding our capacity is critical to our public health infrastructure,” said County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “That said, I want to remind the public that vaccines and the booster shot is the best way to protect against this insidious virus. The vast majority of our hospitalizations, which have risen precipitously over the last month, are almost completely filled by the unvaccinated. Testing is and will continue to be an imperative for us, but getting vaccinated will keep people from suffering the worst effects of COVID-19.”
The new testing sites will be identified Monday (Jan. 3) morning and will be in strategic locations in the county with large spaces for drive thru operations. In addition, days and hours expand tomorrow at the Camden County Health Hub for testing from 8 a.m. to noon. The other options remain in place until the announcement of the new locations.
- Beginning Monday, Jan. 3, testing will be available at the Health Hub located at Camden County College’s Blackwood campus from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Starting Jan. 3, testing will be available at Cooper University Hospital, which is located the intersection of Broadway and Stevens Street in Camden, from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
- Cooper Specialty Care at Cherry Hill will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. This is by appointment only and you must be asymptomatic to be tested.
- You can schedule your COVID-19 test at Cooper by using our online scheduling tool at this link.
In addition to these county testing options the state Department of Health is also offering a mail in option. They have partnered with the same test provider, Vault Medical Services, to distribute free, at home COVID-19 tests by mail to all residents who need them. The new program is in addition to traditional testing operated at designated testing sites.
You can order a test by going to learn.vaulthealth.com/nj. The kits are shipped through UPS with next-day delivery and once you receive it, you will hold a Zoom call with a Vault health care professional to guide you through the test and answer your questions. You then send the test back in pre-paid packaging through UPS’ next-day delivery and you must drop off the package at a UPS site or dropbox. Results should be back to you within 24 to 48 hours.
Vaccine hours:
Today, new operational hours at the vaccine clinic will shift to 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays.
“If you have not been vaccinated against COVID, you really shouldn’t be attending group gatherings or entering places indoors without a mask,” Cappelli continued. “We all want to things to return to normal and the best way to do that is to get vaccinated. The vaccines are safe, effective and readily available so please, get vaccinated. And if you haven’t received your booster yet, make sure to do so. You can make an appointment at the Camden County Health Hub by visiting www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com.”
