(Camden, NJ) – The COVID-19 testing site located at Cooper’s Poynt Waterfront Park in Camden will be temporarily closed today, Tuesday, April 21, due to a string of strong to severe storms forecasted to hit the area this afternoon. Patients are asked to visit one of the other clinic sites operated by Cooper University Health Care or Virtua Health until the site reopens for its normal operating hours on Wednesday.
Virtua performs COVID-19 testing at its five hospitals and operates a by-appointment drive-thru clinic prioritized for symptomatic healthcare workers and first responders. Cooper also operates a community based COVID-19 testing collection site in Cherry Hill, performing tests for hospitalized patients and Cooper staff through its own medical laboratory.
“For the safety of our healthcare personnel and residents seeking testing, it has been determined that testing should not be administered at the site this afternoon,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “The decision to lose a day of testing is not easy to make, but after carefully reviewing today’s forecast, it was determined that the combination of heavy rain, lightning, and winds up to 40 mph poses too great of a risk. We know that testing is critical in our fight against this virus, but our foremost concern is the safety of our residents and the medical providers who are already putting their health in jeopardy to administer testing. Testing will resume during normal operating hours on Wednesday.”
The site, operated jointly by Cooper University Health Care, Virtua Health, the Camden County Freeholder Board, and Camden County Health Department, will continue offering testing indefinitely based on need and available resources. The site serves county residents, by appointment, who have symptoms and meet other criteria, and who have received a referral for testing from a medical provider (at Cooper, Virtua, CamCare, or other provider).