County To Hold Free Coronavirus Testing Event In Bloomfield

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — UPDATE: The free coronavirus testing that was set take place in Bloomfield on Aug. 4 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Aug. 5 due to the weather forecast. Residents will automatically be rescheduled to Wednesday; they don't need make a new appointment, according to county officials. Our original article follows below.

Free coronavirus testing will take place in Bloomfield on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

County officials have been running a series of free COVID-19 testing events for local residents, which kicked off several months ago at a drive-thru site at Weequahic Park in Newark. Since then, additional events have been taking place throughout the county.

Testing will take place at Bloomfield Town Hall Municipal Lot, 1 Municipal Plaza in Bloomfield on Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The tests are by appointment only and are being offered to Essex County residents free of charge.

According to county officials:

“Essex County residents with or without symptoms are encouraged to get tested. Residents age 13 and older are welcome to get tested. 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. Testing is provided free of charge; health insurance is not required. To make an appointment, residents should visit www.EssexCOVID.org or call 973-877-8456. 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.”

The county will hold another testing event at the North Caldwell Fireman’s Field Parking Lot, 131 Gould Avenue in North Caldwell from 4 to 6 p.m. on Aug. 6.

The drive-thru site at Weequahic Park in Newark will continue to operate on Mondays from 2 to 5 p.m., and Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon, officials said.

“Bringing testing access to different areas of Essex County is an important step in protecting the health of our residents and our communities,” Freeholder President Brendan Gill said. “Widespread testing is crucial to stopping the spread of the virus.”

“Unfortunately, Essex County leads the state in the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“Our fight against this deadly disease is far from over and we must remain vigilant and aggressive to combat it,” DiVincenzo said. “Testing is a critical tool that will tell us exactly how widespread the virus is and who has been infected.”

As of Wednesday, Bloomfield has seen 1,115 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 67 deaths linked to the disease, county officials said.

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