CVS and Walmart offering COVID-19 tests in NJ

Self swabbing coronavirus tests are now available at nearly a dozen CVS locations and seven Walmart stores in New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy has said that testing for COVID-19 and contact tracing are keys to lifting executive orders limiting commerce and recreation.

“More testing means more people will know their health status and that means more peace of mind," he said earlier this month. "And more testing creates more data, and more data allow us to take more steps forward."

Expanded testing and contact tracing is necessary to give everybody “the confidence that we’ve got the infrastructure in place so that as we begin to reopen the state, they know that we’re on it, we can spot a community spread or a flare-up with very short notice," the governor said.

The tests are available at the drive-thru of the 11 stores in North and Central Jersey after registering in advance at CVS.com. A CVS staffer will watch a person administer the test in their car. The customer leaves the sample in a special box. It will be sent to a third-party lab, which will return results in three days.

CVS, which has offered testing since April, said the testing will soon be available at more locations.

The initial New Jersey locations:

• 1041 Pompton Ave., Cedar Grove
• 50 W. Madison Ave., Dumont
• 430 Westfield Ave., Elizabeth
• 29-00 Broadway, Route 4, Fair Lawn
• 1000 W. St. Georges Ave., Linden
• 221 Main St., Lodi
• 453 Valley Road, Maplewood
• 440 Bellville Turnpike, North Arlington
• 269A Livingston St., Northvale
• 150 Rochelle Ave., Rochelle Park
• 1319 Magie Ave., Union Township (Union County)

Murphy on Wednesday announced that Walmart and their partner Quest Diagnostics will begin offering tests at stores in Burlington, Flemington, Garfield, Howell, Kearny, North Bergen and Mount Laurel. Tests will be offered 7 to 9 a.m.Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The test will be available on Tuesday instead of Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday.

Rite Aid started offering testing in April and has expanded its availability to 14 locations in Barrington, Bayonne, Clifton, Edgewater Park, Edison, Hackensack., Lake Hiawatha, Neptune, Newark, Robbinsville, Sewell, Somerset, Toms River and Waldwick.