As promised by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer a couple of weeks ago in her pandemic update, a new Neighborhood Testing Site for the coronavirus opens today in Benton Harbor, bringing the total number of community sites offering COVID-19 testing to 20 across the state. The Michigan Department of the Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is working with trusted community partners including churches, community colleges and nonprofit organizations to launch the sites.
The new Benton Harbor site is at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, located at 1105 East Main Street in the city, and will offer testing Tuesdays from 10 am to 5 pm; Thursdays from 10 am to 5 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy of Health and MDHHS, tells us, “Testing is free and locations were chosen in part to help address racial and ethnic disparities that existed prior to the pandemic and were exacerbated by the virus.” She adds, “We are pleased more than 2,600 Michiganders have been tested at one of the Neighborhood Testing Sites since they opened at the end of August.”
The new Benton Harbor site joins 19 other sites in Albion, Detroit, Ecorse, Flint, Graying, Lansing, Niles, Roseville, Saginaw and Wayne. Language translation is being provided at all sites, as well as assistance for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Testing sites are offering saliva tests, which are less invasive than nasal swabs and may make the testing process more tolerable for some people. Appointments are strongly encouraged and can be made either by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136 and selecting “1” or by registering online. Walk-ins will be taken as space allows, but pre-registration is strongly advised. Online registration is available at this link: http://Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest
Test results can be obtained via phone, email or by logging into the results portal.
