LATEST: Coronavirus update: N.J. confirms 1st death, total cases in state rises to 15

The number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey, across the United States and around the world continues to grow.

On Monday afternoon, state officials announced five new cases of the virus — officially called COVID-19 — in the Garden State, bringing the total count to 11 cases in New Jersey.

Those numbers are expected to continue rising, state officials said at a press conference Monday afternoon. Of course, that rise will be driven by the number of people actually tested for the coronavirus. But getting tested is a little more complicated than just walking into an urgent care and requesting a test.

Here’s what to know about COVID-19 testing in New Jersey.

Who can be tested?

A patient must meet specific criteria before they can be tested for the coronavirus. That criteria, which the New Jersey Department of Health sent to healthcare providers February 28, can be:

A fever or symptoms of lower respiratory illness (such as coughing or shortness of breath) if the patient has had contact with someone who is known to have the coronavirus.

and symptoms of lower respiratory illness (severe enough to require hospitalization) if the patient has travelled to specific areas experiencing outbreak of the virus within the last 14 days. Those areas must have a A feversymptoms of lower respiratory illness (severe enough to require hospitalization) if the patient has travelled to specific areas experiencing outbreak of the virus within the last 14 days. Those areas must have a Level 2 travel health warning from the CDC to meet this criteria. As of Monday, those Level 2 countries were China, Iran, South Korea, Italy and Japan.

A fever with severe acute lower respiratory illness, like pneumonia, which requires hospitalization and is not explained by an alternative cause, like the flu.

If a patient meets the criteria, the healthcare provider will notify the patient’s local health department, which will then notify the DOH. Both of those authorities need to review the case before giving approval for the patient to be tested for the coronavirus.

If a patient does not meet the criteria but is still sick, healthcare providers are advised by the DOH to test for more common illnesses and urge the patient to stay home from school or work.

How does testing work in N.J.?

Once a patient is determined to be eligible for coronavirus testing by the state, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that healthcare providers collect three different samples from the patient: One sample from the lower respiratory tract, and two from the upper respiratory tract.

The sample from the lower respiratory tract should be collected by having the patient cough into a collection cup, according to guidance released by the CDC on Monday. The upper respiratory tract samples should come from swabs of the nose and throat.

Ideally, these samples will be collected within seven days of the patient showing symptoms.

Samples are then sent to a lab for testing. Most of the testing done so far for possible New Jersey coronavirus cases has been handled by the state’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories.

It takes the state lab between 24 and 48 hours to process the tests and determine a result, Christopher Neuwirth, the DOH’s Assistant Commissioner, Public Health Infrastructure, Laboratories & Emergency Preparedness, said at a press conference Monday.

Last Friday, LabCorp announced that it would begin COVID-19 tests nationwide.

According to LabCorp’s website, patients must meet the same criteria to be tested by their facilities. Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, told NJ Advance Media that LabCorp is not required to get approval from the DOH and local health departments before conducting a COVID-19 test, and that LabCorp can test whatever is sent to them by individual healthcare providers.

LabCorp does not collect samples from patients, according to the website, and anyone displaying symptoms is urged not to visit a LabCorp location.

More rapid testing for the coronavirus may be coming. Researchers at Hackensack Meridian Health’s Center for Discovery and Innovation in Nutley are working to develop a rapid response test for the virus, according to a press release.

That rapid response test should yield results in two hours, a Hackensack Meridian Health official previously told NJTV.

A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health did not respond to requests for comments on the current status of that work.

Does N.J. have enough tests?

New Jersey currently has two COVID-19 test kits at the state lab, according to Neuwirth. He added that each of those test kits can cover 216 patients, so the state can test 432 patients total.

Neuwirth said that an order for a third test kit at the state lab is being placed.

Dr. Christina Tan, New Jersey’s state epidemiologist, said at Monday afternoon’s press conference that the limited number of tests is the reason why testing for the coronavirus isn’t being done on a larger scale.

“We have to also consider the judicious use of these tests, in the context of limited resources, in the context of trying to prioritize where we want to focus our attention,” Dr. Tan said.

Can the CDC keep up with confirming state tests?

If a positive test is found in New Jersey, the patient is considered “presumed positive” until a confirmation test can be done by the CDC at its Atlanta facility. Altman told NJ Advance Media that this confirmation testing takes about 48 to 72 hours, though Neuwirth said at the Monday press conference that the CDC process can take up to a week.

Neuwirth also noted that the state still has not gotten CDC confirmation of the first two “presumed positive” patients, and said that the state has reached out to the federal agency as recently as this morning for an update.

“At this time we are unaware of exactly what is causing that delay,” Neuwirth said.

If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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