How To Get A Home COVID-19 Test In Westfield
WESTFIELD, NJ — As COVID-19 cases surge across the northeast, New Jersey cases have more than doubled in a week. The state is trying to get in front of infections by offering at-home tests.
Videos and photos of urgent-care locations packed in New York City and testing lines circling blocks of Manhattan have gone viral on social media. To keep residents safe and avoid a similar circumstance, the NJ Department of Health and Vault Medical Services have partnered to offer a free, at home COVID-19 saliva test kit to NJ residents.
The kit is available to all New Jersey residents, regardless of whether you have symptoms.
According to the website, here's how the test works:
"Order your test from Vault. The test kit will arrive at your home via expedited shipping.
Log on to your patient flow for next steps. Zoom supervision is required, you will be prompted to log into Vault’s virtual waiting room. Wait times for a clinician are generally 15 minutes or less. Wait times are longest over the noon hour. You must not eat, drink, smoke, or chew anything for 30 minutes before your testing session.
Ship your sample to the lab using a prepaid UPS package.
Get your result 24 to 48 hours after your sample arrives at the lab."
The tests are free and can be ordered online.
State officials urged the public to use caution with Christmas and New Year's approaching. "Please this week before the holiday, stay home if you are sick and get tested before any holiday gatherings, especially if you have any potential exposure," New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said during Monday's state coronavirus briefing.
The state health department has reported at least 6,000 new cases per day since Thursday, peaking at 6,533 for Sunday. It wasn't long ago when New Jersey's case totals were less than half that amount, reaching only 2,968 on Dec. 13.
There were 40 COVID-19 cases identified in Westfield between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14. In Union County, 69 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. In Westfield, 98 percent of adults and 78 percent of the entire population is fully vaccinated.
The Westfield Regional Health Department held a booster vaccine clinic in Fanwood on Wednesday with over 200 participants.
This article originally appeared on the Westfield Patch
