{"id":10694,"date":"2020-04-06T12:50:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T16:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/news\/?p=10694"},"modified":"2020-04-15T16:14:02","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:14:02","slug":"cooper-experts-when-to-visit-a-covid-19-testing-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/news\/2020\/04\/cooper-experts-when-to-visit-a-covid-19-testing-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooper Experts: When to Visit a COVID-19 Testing Site"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joseph

Joseph M Montella, MD, MS, CPE<\/p><\/div>\n

UPDATED 4\/15\/20: This post has been updated to include information about new COVID-19 testing sites for Camden County first responders.<\/p>\n

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As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooper University Health Care and other health care systems across the country have opened specimen collection sites for COVID-19 testing (testing sites) where individuals who have an order from their doctor for COVID-19 testing can go to have a specimen collected to be sent to a lab for testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity testing sites help free up space and resources for other medical emergencies in local emergency rooms, and limit the exposure to other patients and staff inside the hospital from those who potentially are infected with COVID-19,\u201d said Joseph M. Montella, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Cooper University Health Care.<\/p>\n

How to Know if You Are Eligible for Testing<\/h2>\n

Once a patient obtains a referral (order) from their physician for COVID-19 testing, the patient should call the phone number for the site to schedule an appointment.\u00a0 Patients eligible for testing must have at least one symptom<\/strong> of COVID-19 infection and at least one risk factor<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Symptoms<\/h3>\n