Listen to this article

The state is allowing more than 18,000 licensed pharmacists across New Jersey to begin administering COVID-19 tests, as the Murphy administration works to increase the number of locations where people can be screened for the virus.

With the expanded manpower, Gov. Phil Murphy said, there are more than 2,200 pharmacies across the state where one can be tested for COVID-19. The visits are available by appointment only.

“These pharmacies are run by professionals who have a deep well of trust and a strong connection with their broader communities,” Murphy said at his daily COVID-19 press briefing in Trenton on Tuesday.

The order comes from the Division of Consumer Affairs “collaborative practice agreement” – a type of accord among health care providers all caring for the same patient.

CVS, according to Murphy, would begin offering take-home self-swab tests at 50 of its New Jersey locations by the end of May.

That all comes in a bid to lift restrictions – aimed at slowing the spread of the virus by denying it new hosts – on virtually every aspect of life within the state.

The mass availability of testing is the second of six milestones that the state needs to reach in order to progress along its road to reopening. It also needs a system in place to track down and isolate potential cases, and health care infrastructure in place to handle the widely expected future waves of infection likely to happen when colder weather resumes in the fall.

Murphy said he wants to boost the state’s testing capacity to 20,000 per day by the end of May, and 25,000 per day by the end of June, with priorities on vulnerable populations such as the elderly.

New Jersey is ultimately in the first “stage” of a newly-unveiled reopening plan, which still calls for strict social distancing practices.

“Stage two” calls for those restrictions to be loosened and less intense – limited personal care like salons, sit-down dining, some forms of childcare and small-scale family and social gatherings – all geared toward a “broader restart of our economy.”

“Stage three” allows for limited in-person gatherings: Restaurants and bars can reopen at reduced capacity, hair salons can open their doors and office work can resume at a limited extent. In-person classrooms can reopen on a limited basis and public transit would no longer be discouraged.

During all of this, face coverings ought to be worn in public, and social distancing must be practiced to reduce in-person contact and potential exposure to the virus.

That would, Murphy cautioned, become a “new normal” until an effective treatment or vaccine is found, which can be administered on a widespread basis to the population.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:55 a.m. EST on May 20, 2020, to include that COVID-19 testing at New Jersey pharmacies is available by appointment only.