Freeholder directs OEM to request 5,000 COVID-19 test kits for Hunterdon County residents
HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – Hunterdon County Freeholder Board Director Shaun Van Doren has directed the County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to give the highest status to the county’s request for 5000 COVID-19 test kits to NJ OEM, in support of Hunterdon County health care providers’ request for test kits.
“On behalf of the Freeholder Board, I have directed the County’s OEM to submit a Resource Request to NJ OEM for an immediate supply of 5000 test kits. Hunterdon Healthcare and other medical providers need additional test kits to support testing. I am advised that the state should forward the request to FEMA if they cannot fulfill it,” Van Doren said.
“Health and medical personnel who administer tests also need protective clothing and equipment to administer the COVID-19 tests, Van Doren said.
Hunterdon County’s OEM and Health Department, since February, have already provided more than 70,100 protective items to first responders and healthcare workers, having received nearly 165 individual requests. More personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed, Van Doren said.
On March 16, OEM and Health requested 67,500 additional units of PPE’s including masks, gowns, and gloves, from the state OEM, to provide those resources for Hunterdon medical providers. This request should also have been sent by the state to FEMA, Van Doren said.
“Health professionals advise that for any mass testing regime to be implemented, fulfillment of these requests is necessary,” Van Doren said.
The County’s Health Department, OEM, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and CERT teams will be providing personnel to assist with expanded testing. MRC volunteers have been supporting the Hunterdon Healthcare COVID call center daily for two weeks. The COVID hotline number is 908 788-6440, Van Doren said.
“We will continue to press state and federal agencies and officials to ensure that needed resources are provided to Hunterdon County to assist our local medical providers and our residents,” Van Doren said.
