September 22, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2020
Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112
LANSING, MICH. A new Neighborhood Testing Site in Benton Harbor opens today, bringing the total number of community sites offering COVID-19 testing to 20. 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 site, at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church,1105 East Main Street, Benton Harbor, will offer testing Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“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,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy of health and MDHHS. “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 sites join 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 online. Walk-ins will be taken as space allows, but pre-registration is strongly advised. Online registration is available at Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest.
Test results can be obtained via phone, email or by logging into the results portal.
Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
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