New Jersey partners with private labs to increase COVID-19 testing
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli provide an update on the state's response to the deadly coronavirus. (Edwin J. Torres/Governor’s Office)
TRE - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday a new partnership between the state and privately owned labs that promises increase COVID-19 testing for residents.
In addition, the governor said the state's Public Health and Environmental Laboratories is expanding their capability to process over 1,000 tests a day. The governmental arm is also developing specimen collection kits in order to relieve shortages of critical kit components.
New Jersey based LabCorp and BioReference laboratories are aiding in the state's fight against coronavirus, which has particularly impacted the northern reaches of the state, such as Bergen County.
"This represents just one part of an unprecedented, collective effort across our entire healthcare system, and our entire state, to contain the spread of the virus and protect the lives of our residents," Gov. Murphy said.
"With these partnerships, we will be in a stronger position than ever before to identify the scope of COVID-19 in our state and to fight this virus head on.”
RELATED
Gov. Murphy signs executive order to postpone NJ elections
How COVID-19 has impacted Delaware Valley so far
3 New Jersey family members succumb to coronavirus, governor says
Murphy: Officials considering statewide curfew amid COVID-19 outbreak
BioReference Executive Chairman Jon R. Cohen, M.D says the partnership will provide an additional 10,000 tests to residents. The state and local labs are also working collaboratively to coordinate drive-thru testing locations in five counties.
To facilitate the partnership and increase testing results, the New Jersey Dept. of Health is fitting state labs with high-throughput lab equipment. The department is also working on developing and validating its own specimen collection kits, which can be used by healthcare providers in the state to send samples to any lab that offers testing for COVID-19.
___
For the latest local news, sports and weather, download the FOX 29 News app.
DOWNLOAD: FOX 29 NEWS APP