COVID-19 Angst: Tempers Flare As Nervous Residents Wait Long Hours For Tests In Newark
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- New Jersey reported more than 4,000 cases of coronavirus again Tuesday as the state combats the second wave.
And, as CBS2's Nick Caloway reported, some people are having trouble getting a test.
There were long lines outside a CityMD in Newark, with some people desperate for a COVID-19 test, and things actually got heated when some were turned away.
As the pandemic swells, patience is thinning.
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Anthony Chaljup, a Newark resident, showed up at the CityMD at around 7 a.m. To prevent lines, the clinic takes people's names and phone numbers and calls them back later.
"I got my name on the list. They sent me home twice. They said come back in an hour, come back in two hours. I've been coming back, and still nothing yet," Chaljup said. "With the pandemic going on, it makes you a little nervous because you don't know if you're going to be able to get tested or not."
Shortly after that interview, tempers flared over the long wait and Chaljup was asked to leave.
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In New Jersey and across the Tri-State Area, lines for COVID tests have gotten longer as the second wave worsens.
Back in the spring, large state- and federal-run testing sites were built at Bergen Community College and elsewhere to keep up with the skyrocketing demand.
Caloway asked Gov. Phil Murphy if those might make a comeback this time around.
"It's a good question, something that I think is on the table for consideration," Murphy said.
The governor said testing capacity is strong, for now, and that the cost of running those large testing sites is a factor.
"Funding is an issue on something like that. That was a FEMA-driven project. Those were both FEMA-driven," Murphy said.
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Murphy seemed optimistic about new rapid molecular testing technology now available to the state from a company called Cue Health that could help speed up the testing process.
New Jersey has recorded more than 4,000 new cases in three of the last four days, and more than 2,300 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. That's more than double since the beginning of the month.
The police did eventually show up after that earlier disturbance at the CityMD, but Caloway didn't see any arrests being made.
Meanwhile, Murphy again Tuesday warned that the second wave of the pandemic will get worse before it gets better and he is basically begging people to take it seriously.
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