The new sites will be in Dudley Grange Park (May 5) and in the parking lot of the Camden City DMV office (April 29). Only symptomatic county residents with referrals for an exam will be seen.
By Matt Skoufalos | March 31, 2020 (Updated – April 28, 2020)
Playground at Cooper’s Poynt Park. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
As funding and supplies for the first Camden County novel coronavirus (COVID-19) testing site expire, the county government announced Monday that it will open two more local screening sites in the next week.
The initial site, which opened at Cooper’s Poynt Park on Delaware Avenue, was to have closed April 15, but its operations were extended throughout the month.
When it closes up at the end of the month, the county will open two more sites within the city.
The first of these will begin operations April 29 in the Camden Division of Motor Vehicles parking lot at 2600 Mount Ephraim Avenue in South Camden. That site will operate from 12 noon to 4 p.m. weekdays, staffed by employees of the Virtua Health System.
The second, to be opened in Dudley Grange Park at 3101 Federal Street in East Camden, will operate
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays starting May 5, and staffed by employees of Cooper University Health System. The county indicated that those hours are subject to change after the first week of operations based on demand.
That site will work to reduce what Camden County Freeholder-Director Lou Cappelli described as “a hot spot” of COVID-19 cases in “a large immigrant community.”
“A lot of folks have not been tested, but those who have been tested in that neighborhood are coming up with a high rate of positive tests,” Cappelli said.
Patients must make appointments to be screened for the virus by calling (856) 968-7100 or (856) 342-2881 weekdays during normal business hours. Only those patients with a physician referral can be seen.
Since opening, Cooper’s Poynt has served 1,600 Camden County residents, Cappelli said; it will discontinue operations at 3 p.m. on May 1.
Camden County will maintain its operations at the Blackwood campus of Camden County College; that site, despite being the first planned in the county, opened after the Cooper’s Poynt location.
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Camden County will open its first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) mass testing site tomorrow at Cooper’s Poynt Park in Camden City.
The waterfront park, located at 801 Delaware Avenue, will be open to county residents with a medical referral for a COVID-19 test and active symptoms.
Hours are noon to 4 p.m. weekdays through April 15, and by appointment only.
The site will accommodate walk-up and drive-up screenings.
The test site is a collaboration among Cooper University Health Care, Virtua Health, the Camden County Freeholder Board, and Camden County Health Department, which announced its opening Tuesday. Along with Jefferson Health System, Virtua and Cooper also perform COVID-19 tests at locations in their networks.
“As the entire country and state continues to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is important county residents have access and opportunity to testing,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli in a statement.
“This initiative combined with social distancing and other mitigation factors will help us break the back of this virus.”
However, without access to a significant inventory of test kits, that site hasn’t been able to open, and Cappelli said last week that it could be a few more weeks away. The Blackwood site is “still in play,” however, Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen confirmed.
Read our ongoing round-up of COVID-19 coverage here.
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