GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A new neighborhood COVID-19 testing site opened in Grand Rapids on Thursday, bringing the total number of community testing sites to 21.
The site is located at Garfield Park Gyn, 2111 Madison Avenue SE, according to a news release.
Testing will be offered Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Neighborhood testing sites have proven to be a valuable resource for communities across the state to ensure free testing is available to all Michiganders,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy of health at MDHHS. “Since these sites were opened at the end of August, more than 16,000 Michiganders have been tested at one of the neighborhood testing sites. Locations were chosen in part to help address racial and ethnic disparities that existed prior to the pandemic and were exacerbated by the virus.”
The sites offer 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 or online.
Walk-ins will also be taken as space allows.
“As we continue to encourage the people of Kent County to get tested, we are grateful to have this additional resource in our community,” said Dr. Adam London, administrative health officer at the Kent County Health Department. “Ensuring access to quality testing is a key part of our strategy to identify cases and limit COVID-19's ability to spread.”
Other sites in the state are located in Albion, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Ecorse, Flint, Graying, Lansing, Niles, Roseville, Saginaw and Wayne.