UPDATE 4/13/20: Trenton Health Team has reported that Mercer County has closed all Covid-19 test sites — including a walk-up site in Trenton and the drive-up site at Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence — today, Monday April 13, due to high-wind warnings from the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service today issued a high wind warning for central New Jersey in effect from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday April 13 predicting “damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines” with widespread power outages expected.
Those who had been scheduled for coronavirus tests on Monday, April 13 will be contacted by the county to reschedule.
Mercer County is partnering with Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and local health care professionals to begin free walk-up COVID-19 testing by appointment only.
City residents experiencing coronavirus symptoms and lacking transportation will need a physician’s order to be tested. These sites will be reserved for residents who suffer coronavirus symptoms but cannot access the county’s drive-through test site at Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence.
To serve as many residents as conveniently as possible, walk-up test sites will open in each Trenton ward one day a week beginning Monday, April 13, according to a press release from the Trenton Health Team.
Residents without a primary care doctor can call Henry J. Austin Health Center (609) 278-5900 to determine if a test is needed. The health center will serve all patients, including those without insurance. Staff can connect callers—even new patients—with a doctor via phone or video.
There is no charge for testing at any Mercer County-run site.
Anyone experiencing Covid-19 symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, body aches, or fatigue should stay home and contact a doctor. If a doctor orders a test, the Mercer County health call center will contact residents to schedule a testing time and location.
“Talking with a doctor will provide important health safety information and help everyone understand what to do based on test results,” said Trenton Health Team executive director Gregory Paulson. “If you don’t have symptoms, federal guidelines don’t recommend a test. And if you do have symptoms, a doctor can best determine if you should be tested.”
Trenton sites are an expansion of Mercer County’s testing efforts launched last week with a Lawrence drive-through center open by appointment only for symptomatic county residents age 18 or older who have a prescription from a primary health care provider.
County testing centers are a collaborative effort between the County of Mercer, the city of Trenton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, Capital Health System, St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton and the Trenton Health Team. Local updates, including food access and pharmacy information, is available on the Trenton Health Team’s Covid-19 webpage.
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