GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) reported Monday that its seen a sharp decline in the number of people seeking appointments and getting tested for the coronavirus at the its three testing sites, as well as partner sites in recent weeks.
KCHD said several sites are operating well under capacity, with low or no wait time for appointments. Turnaround time for test results has dropped too with the vast majority of KCHD test results come back within 48 hours, some as fast as 24-36 hours. Wait times for test results were running as high as seven to ten days at their peak in July.
“We want people to know that testing is free, quick, easy and available,” said Christopher Bendekgey, Community Clinical Services Division Director, Kent County Health Department. “People are still contracting the virus, but we suspect they’ve heard it’s hard to get an appointment or others have waited over a week for results, and they’re thinking, ‘why bother?’ But it’s vital that we continue to track and work to stop the spread of this disease in our community.”
In the recent weeks, the health department has seen a decline of about 300 test per week across its three sites. Other community partner testing sites are reporting similar lulls in their testing.
Testing sites with immediate availability include:
- Kent County Health Department Fuller Clinic, 700 Fuller Ave NE, Grand Rapids MI 49503
- Kent County Health Department South Clinic, 4700 Kalamazoo Ave, Kentwood MI 49508
- Kent County Health Department Baxter test site, 935 Baxter St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506
- NxGen MDx test site located at LINC UP, 1167 Madison Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Tests at these locations are free and appointments at the health department sites can be made online or by calling 616-632-7200. Appointments at the LINC UP site can be made by visiting https://nxgenmdx.com/covid-19-testing-mi/.
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