OCEAN COUNTY residents who are not showing symptoms of COVID 19 can now be tested at the coronavirus drive thru test site at Ocean County College, Toms River.

Testing will continue to be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, by appointment, but starting July 6 you can be asymptomatic and have a test done at the OCC site.

“We are now providing tests to asymptomatic residents in order to increase testing opportunities in the community,” said Ocean County Public Health Coordinator Daniel Regenye. “Up until now the drive thru site at OCC and some other independent testing sites in the County required a person to be showing symptoms and to have a script from a healthcare practitioner.

“We will no longer be requiring this at the college drive thru, however appointments are still required,” Regenye said.

To date, 5,406 coronavirus tests have been performed at the college testing site.

“This site has been the result of a successful partnership with the college, our area hospitals, Sheriff Michael Mastronardy and the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management, the Ocean County Health Department and a host of other collaborators who have come together to make this work for our citizens,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari. “By opening it up to people that are asymptomatic we are increasing the number of people that can be tested in the County.”

To schedule an appointment for a test Ocean County residents can visit the Ocean County Health Department website at www.ochd.org. If residents have any questions, they can call the Health Department at 732-341-9700, Ext. 7411. Proof of residency will be required. Emergency responders who do not work in the County but live in the county can also access testing at the site.

“We want to make certain all of our emergency responders can be tested promptly if they have been exposed or are showing symptoms of the virus,” Vicari said. “They can easily access the site at OCC by calling the Health Department.”

Regenye noted there are other locations and testing sites for asymptomatic people that have opened throughout the state with some located in Ocean County.

Two websites providing this information are: https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/testing and https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/testing#test-sites.

Partners in the testing site at OCC include U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management under Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, the Ocean County Health Department, RWJ Barnabas Health Southern Region and Hackensack Meridian Health and Ocean County College.

“Residents remain in their cars and medical personnel perform a nasal swab at the OCC site,” said Ocean County Freeholder Gerry P. Little, who is liaison to the Ocean County Health Department. “We are working to make this convenient and more importantly safe for the public, the health care providers on site and staff.”

As of July 1, Ocean County has recorded 9,627 cases of the coronavirus.
Once the test has been performed, it’s anticipated to take about three to five days for results to be returned.

“All the results will be available on the BioReference Laboratories Patient Portal: Bioreference.com/patients/ and through the Ocean County Health Department residents will be notified whether they test positive or negative,” Regenye said.

The most common symptoms of COVID 19 are fever, fatigue, a dry cough and shortness of breath. Ocean County has also established a process to ensure that people with test results are informed in a timely manner and provided with guidance, consultation and next steps.