New Jersey plans to increase its use of a virus test developed by researchers at Rutgers University — one that’s easier to administer and can produce results in far less time than the current nasal swab testing.
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Saliva tests have been working out well so far, and the tests will be done at homes for the intellectually and developmentally disabled starting next week.
Expansion from that point could result in some 10,000 virus tests a day statewide, with results in a day or two.
“Having a robust and greatly expanded testing program in place is vital to our being able to begin to reopen responsibly our state. We need to at least roughly double our testing capacity as a minimal benchmark,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.
The governor is now expected to detail a plan to gradually reopen the state on Monday. Meanwhile, there are signs that New Jersey may have to return much of the $1.8 billion the state is expecting in the CARES Act because the federal government requires it not be used for anything that had been budgeted prior to the pandemic.
Murphy said he was blindsided by that guidance from the Treasury Department, and said that just won’t work.