FLINT, MI — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced 13 new or expanded COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites, one of which is in Flint.

Flint’s drive-thru location is at Atwood Stadium via the parking lot entrance off West 1st Street. It opens on Wednesday, April 15. Thereafter, it will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

The expanded testing services are available through a partnership involving the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Michigan Primary Care Association, 11 health centers, and NxGen MDX Laboratory.

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

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 percent.

“The State of Michigan is working with our healthcare partners to step up COVID-19 testing,” 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 Flint location, as well as a drive-thru site in Detroit, will aim to serve at least 250 and 750 people per day, respectively. Additional site details are in progress and will be announced soon.

The Flint site is in partnership with Hurley Medical Center.

“I would like to thank Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Hurley Medical Center and all of our partners for stepping up so that we can fill this critical need in our community,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely said. “We know our community has been especially hard hit, and testing is an important tool to combat this deadly virus.”

City of Flint Health Adviser Dr. Lawrence Reynolds said testing is important to get a more accurate picture of the virus and heath trends.

“This is a new virus that jumped from animals to humans. We have limited experience so testing is one of the initial steps to find how this virus affects different populations with different resources,” Reynolds said. “Testing gives us an idea of what we have to do and for how long.”

Reynolds added that Flint has some of the hardest hit zip codes in Genesee County and that coronavirus is disproportionately impacting the African-American population, especially African-American men.

As of Friday, April 10, 351 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Flint, 42 percent of the total 827 cases reported in Genesee County. Genesee County follows only the tri-county metro-Detroit counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb for the highest number of cases in Michigan.

Countywide, African-Americans account for 48 percent of cases and 56 percent of the total 55 deaths, but just 20 percent of the overall population.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan also lauded Whitmer’s announcement.

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

Additional new drive-thru sites will also operate in Atlanta, Bad Axe, Battle Creek, Bay City, Benton Harbor, Jackson, Kalamazoo, and Traverse City. The partnership will significantly expand drive-thru test sites currently operating in Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Saginaw.

Each site will aim to serve 100 or more individuals per day beginning Monday, April 13, with the exception of the Detroit and Flint locations. Individuals should call before coming to these drive-thru sites for pre-test evaluation and additional information.

“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 six feet between yourself and others if you must go out, more testing will help Michigan slow the spread of COVID-19.”

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

“We’re grateful to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and MDHHS for recognizing the pivotal role that community health centers can play in providing care for residents without a regular doctor, opening new drive-thru testing locations, and alleviating some of the burden on our hospital partners,” said Dennis Litos, interim chief executive officer of the Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA). “MPCA is incredibly proud of the care community health centers have been providing during this crisis, and they will continue to serve on the frontlines of COVID-19 relief efforts.”

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 healthcare 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.

The drive-thru test locations are opening on a rolling basis, beginning today through next week. They are:

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 (Open beginning on 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.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

Related:

Bay County has 2 new coronavirus testing sites

Coronavirus death toll hits 57 in Genesee County, 9 in Saginaw County