Mich. Deaths Almost At 1,400, 9 New Coronavirus Test Sites Opening Across State

As of Saturday, 1,392 people have now died of COVID-19 in Michigan. There were 1,281 deaths as of Friday, an increase of 111 deaths. There were 205 cases reported Friday, which included some that were previously unreported.

There are now almost 23,993 positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by a new coronavirus, as of Saturday, although state officials believe the actual number of cases is much higher. There were 22,783 cases on Friday, so that’s 1,210 new cases.

As of Friday, 433 people have recovered from COVID-19, according to the state.

The new state-reported numbers only recently began incorporating data from other commercial and private labs and hospitals around Michigan, which caused an apparent spike in numbers that speaks more to the number of cases just now being publicly reported.

The first two cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state on March 10. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency that day.

Johns Hopkins University reports that there are more than 1.7 million confirmed cases worldwide and more than 106,000 deaths. In the United States, there are more than 500,000 confirmed cases and almost 20,000 deaths.

On Saturday, the state also announced 13 new or expanded COVID-19 drive-through testing sites and a new lab to speed up test results.

This is a partnership involving the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Michigan Primary Care Association, 11 health centers and NxGen MDX Laboratory.

“Increased testing is the only way we will know where COVID-19 is in Michigan, and will guide our public health response,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive. “Along with social distancing practices such as staying home and keeping 6 feet between yourself and others if you must go out, more testing will help Michigan slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The efforts will increase Michigan’s daily COVID-19 testing capacity by about 40% when fully operational.

There are nine new drive-through testing locations and expansion of three existing centers where residents can be tested for COVID-19 without leaving their vehicles, plus additional testing at a location yet-to-be-determined in Detroit.

Use of a new commercial laboratory in Grand Rapids that can run upwards of 3,000 tests per day, which would increase Michigan’s average number of results every day by about 40%.

“The state of Michigan is working with our health care partners to step up COVID-19 testing,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “Better access to testing and quicker results are critical to our public health officials who are fighting coronavirus and to our residents who have symptoms of COVID-19 and need answers, treatment and peace of mind. More testing will save lives.”

The new drive-through capacity will include two large-scale sites in Detroit and Flint. The sites will aim to serve at least 750 and 250 people per day, respectively. Additional site details are in progress and will be announced soon.

“The key to beating the coronavirus is to make testing available to everyone who needs it,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “The governor’s announcement today is a huge boost in Detroit’s arsenal against this disease.”

The drive-through test locations are opening on a rolling basis, beginning Saturday through next week:

Atlanta (between Gaylord and Alpena): Thunder Bay Community Health Service, 11899 M-32, 989-733-6827.

Bad Axe: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 876 N. Van Dyke Rd, 989-623-0137.

Battle Creek: Grace Health, 181 W. Emmett St., 269-441-3463.

Bay City: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 3884 Monitor Rd, 989-671-2000.

Benton Harbor: InterCare Community Health Network, 800 M-139, 855-869-6900.

Detroit: Details to come.

Flint (Opening Wednesday): Atwood Stadium, parking lot entrance off West 1st Street, details to come.

Grand Rapids: Cherry Health, 200 Sheldon Street SE, 616-965-8347.

Jackson: Center for Family Health, 505 N. Jackson St., 517-748-5363.

Kalamazoo: Family Health Center, 117 W Paterson St., 269-488-0804.

Lansing: Ingham Community Health Centers, 2316 S. Cedar St., 517-887-4517.

Saginaw: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 501 Lapeer Ave., 989-293-3492.

Traverse City: Northwest Michigan Health Services, 10767 Traverse Highway, 231-642-5292.

The new Flint site is in partnership with Hurley Medical Center. Each site will aim to serve 100 or more individuals per day beginning Monday, with the exception of the Detroit and Flint sites that will begin operations on later dates.

DHHS will partner with the Michigan Primary Care Association and NxGen Laboratory, a commercial laboratory in Grand Rapids, to operate these testing sites.

People must meet Michigan’s coronavirus testing priority criteria to be tested at the sites. They should first contact the site’s patient screening telephone line or their health care provider if seeking testing. Michigan’s testing priority criteria include:

Hospitalized patients.

Symptomatic health care workers.

Patients in congregate facilities with symptoms, including those at:

Long-term care or elderly living facilities.

Jails or prisons.

Homeless shelters.

Residential foster care facilities.

Other group living settings.

Patients age 65 and older with symptoms.

Patients with underlying conditions with symptoms.

First responders with symptoms.

Critical infrastructure workers with symptoms.

This story was originally published by the Michigan Advance. For more stories from the Michigan Advance, visit MichiganAdvance.com.