On its 1st day, BCC drive-thru testing site closes after 4 hours

Daniel J. Munoz//March 20, 2020//

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Opening at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, the state’s first coronavirus mass testing site at Bergen Community College in Paramus closed after just four hours on its first day in service, turning people away as the site reached maximum capacity.

Hundreds of cars lined up for miles away from the BCC entrance, ultimately forcing the site to turn away any visitors at around noon. The testing site opens again at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Gov. Phil Murphy said at his daily coronavirus press conference on Friday, held at BCC, that 600 patients were tested, and that moving forward capacity will be at 350 people a day.

The governor signed a measure this week that would waive any copays and other costs for testing.

Gov. Phil Murphy marks the opening of New Jersey’s first COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Site and makes an announcement on COVID-19 testing capacity expansion on March 20, 2020 at Bergen Community College in Paramus. — Gov. Phil Murphy marked the opening of New Jersey’s first COVID-19 Community-Based Testing Site and made an announcement on COVID-19 testing capacity expansion on March 20, 2020 at Bergen Community College in Paramus. – EDWIN J. TORRES/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

On Friday, tests will continue until the site closes at 4:00 p.m. but only for visitors who were already admitted into the center, according to Alexandra Altman, a spokesperson for the the governor’s office.

The Paramus location is the first mass testing site in the state, with a second slated to open at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on Monday, according to Murphy administration officials. A third site is being considered in South Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

New Jersey is one of a dozen states where the Federal Emergency Management Agency is building such sites. FEMA will provide weekly supplies of testing kits, tents and personal protective equipment. The New Jersey National Guard is providing additional manpower for traffic control, security and other logistics.

The state’s Public Health and Environmental Lab should be able to handle another 1,000 daily tests, the governor added.

To be eligible for testing, one must show their New Jersey identification and exhibit symptoms consistent with coronavirus: cough, shortness of breath and a fever of at least 99.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Murphy officials maintained this week that they would turn away the “worried well” of anxious residents, in order to focus just on potential cases of COVID-19.

As of Friday, the coronavirus infected 890 New Jersey residents and claimed 11 lives.