COVID TESTING SITE IS MOVING
Location heading to Baker College for the winter
The Macomb County operated COVID-19 drive-thru testing site will move from its current outdoor location to an indoor one on the campus of Baker College in Clinton Township for the winter.
The county Board of Commissioners’ Government Oversight Committee on Wednesday was told about the change after the deal was previously approved through the board’s bypass procedure, which allows for quicker approvals for some COVID-19-related expenditures.
“The site has checked out well,” Deputy County Executive Vicki Wolber told commissioners.
The location will be moving next week from outside the old juvenile court building at North Rose and Dunham.
The county will pay $10,000 per month to operate the facility at the Gratiot Avenue site located onequarter mile south of 15 Mile Road, officials said. Funding for December will come CARES Act dollars and funding for January through May will come from the general fund.
The county government site has been popular and is one of many testing locations throughout in Macomb. The location at one point was seeing close to 700 vehicles per day for free testing, with a one day high of 789, Wolber said. Since the Thanksgiving holiday, that has slowed down to about 400 cars per day, she said.
Wolber expects the initial response to be somewhat slow at the new site but pick up as time passes.
In response to a question by committee Chairman Don Brown, a Washington Township Republican, Wolber said “one or two” employees who administer tests have tested positive for COVID-19. She added all involved wear full personal protective equipment while collecting samples.
“Because of the risks, the people there are in full PPE gear,” she said. “So they’re pretty well protected.”
She said an employee from a staffing company hired by the county may be the only one who tested positive.
Wolber said the site is not currently being looked at as a location for a place to distribute COVID-19 vaccine. The plan is to distribute the vaccine at the Verkuilen Building, 21885 Dunham in Clinton Township, part of the county complex west of Groesbeck Highway at the border of Mount Clemens and the township.
Wolber pointed out the initial vaccine will be distributed in tiers, with health-care workers and firstresponders among the first to receive it. Hospitals will provide vaccines for their own employees, and pharmacies may provide them for long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.
“Initially the numbers of people … will be low,” she said. “We won’t need to take care of everybody. Eventually other partners are coming into play and handling certain areas.”
The county also will be responsible for distribution of the vaccine for St. Clair, Lapeer and Sanilac counties, according to county officials.
Deputy County Executive Vicki Wolber said the site is not currently being looked at as a location for a place to distribute COVID-19 vaccine.