As developments regarding coronavirus related on a local and statewide level continue to unfold, Jersey City has taken a major step. On Monday, May 4th, the city will begin antibody testing for JC residents, according to Mayor Steven Fulop. Here are the details:
Jersey City Antibody Testing
“Today we signed a contract direct w/the lab to begin antibody testing for #JerseyCity residents,” Mayor Fulop announced via Facebook on Friday, May 1st.
“We’ll start on Monday w/2100 tests per week {similar # to nasal swab that we’ll continue doing}. We’ll test our front line employees for the 1st part of next week then begin testing [the] public free of charge towards the end of next week,” he continued. “This is part of our initiatives around broader testing for our residents so that we can get the city functioning again. We will begin taking calls on Wednesday morning to schedule public appointments for antibody testing.”
There is no word yet on where exactly the antibody testing will be held. This news, however, comes quite literally just 24 hours after the city announced that it would allow for COVID-19 testing to all residents with or without symptoms also on Monday, May 4th.
Read More: Latest Jersey City + Hoboken COVID-19 Updates as of May 1, 2020
On Monday, #JerseyCity will expand testing and we will provide free Corona testing to ANY resident requesting it – even residents not showing any symptoms. We believe expanding our testing is important to getting our local economy back. We will also be putting our… pic.twitter.com/zAsMWQDEzF
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) April 30, 2020
“We will provide free Corona testing to ANY resident requesting it – even residents not showing any symptoms. We believe expanding our testing is important to getting our local economy back,” Mayor Fulop said via Tweet. “We will also be putting our most vulnerable communities and front line workers on regular testing rotations to both keep them safe and also to identify potential larger clusters earlier. Appointment are still necessary so please call the testing appointment line to move forward.”
Currently, Jersey City has testing sites at two locations. A walk-up testing center for all Jersey City residents at 140 MLK Drive {in the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center} and a drive-thru location at the former DPW Complex 575 NJ-440, Jersey City — residents must call 201-547-5535 to schedule an appointment.
As of May 1st, Jersey City has 5,329 known COVID-19 cases.
In Hoboken
In Hoboken, steps are being taken in a similar direction. On Wednesday, April 29th, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced that the Mile Square’s testing site through Riverside Medical Group is now open to residents with and without COVID-19 symptoms.
“As has been stated by medical professionals across the country, an increase in testing is critical to our region in order to re-open the local economy. This is especially important as many individuals may have COVID-19 but are unaware because they do not exhibit any symptoms,” he said in a press release. “To that end, I’m extremely pleased to share that Riverside Medical will now open up rapid, 15-minute testing to all Hoboken residents and frontline workers in Hoboken, with or without symptoms of COVID-19.”
Then, following that news, on Thursday, April 30th, the Mayor said that the city is “also taking steps to acquire antibody testing for our residents” in a press release. Currently, however, those plans are not set stone.
“We will be announcing these plans for public antibody testing in Hoboken in the near future for all residents who want it,” he explained. “Currently, a number of medical providers in town offer antibody testing, which residents can contact for more information if they wish to receive a test in the immediate future.”
As of May 1st, Hoboken has 485 known cases of the virus and 23 fatalities.
On a State Level
And to top it all off, all of this news all comes just a few days following NJ Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement regarding plans “for responsibly opening New Jersey.” On Monday, April 27th, he held a press conference that detailed the six-point plan that the state will be taking to reopen.
See More: NJ Governor Murphy Unveils Plans ‘for Responsibly Reopening New Jersey’
“This is a plan for how we move forward, not if we move forward,” Gov. Murphy said in his address. The plan he announced is focused on “restoring New Jersey’s economic health through public health” and to “put us on the road to recovery.”
Statewide, New Jersey has 121,190 cases.
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