Urgent Care Now Doing COVID-19 Testing At Ocean County College

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A local urgent care company has taken over the coronavirus testing at Ocean County College, while freeing up personnel from the Ocean County Health Department to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.

Immediate Care of Toms River is now performing the coronavirus testing at Ocean County College, the company and the Ocean County Health Department announced. The change took effect Friday.

"Making this change from Ocean County Health Department and hospital personnel will help us as we begin to expand our vaccination clinic capacity throughout the county," said Daniel Regenye, public health coordinator for the health department.

The testing is being done indoors at the college's Gateway Building, and will continue to be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Appointments at the site continue to be only for first responders and Ocean County residents. You can schedule an appointment for a test on the Immediate Care website. Identification, proof of residency and insurance card should be brought to the testing site.

There have been almost 30,000 COVID-19 tests administered at Ocean County College since the testing site opened in March 2020.

The tests are for both symptomatic and asymptomatic county residents.

“Testing shows if you have the virus even if you are asymptomatic,” Regenye said. “This can help reduce the spread of the virus so long as people quarantine."

Regenye said the health department staff and hospital staff who had been performing the tests will now be moved to future COVID-19 vaccination clinics operated by the Ocean County Health Department.

The county is receiving about 3,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per week, and is working to expand its vaccination clinic sites. It began vaccinating residents at Manchester Township Elementary School on Friday.

The county has been told its allocation of vaccine doses will increase in the coming weeks, said Brian Lippai, a spokesman for the health department.

Residents can call 732-380-5079 or 1-833-544-0288 if they have general questions about the coronavirus, exposure, quarantine and spread, contact tracing, testing and the vaccine.

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