County working to setup more testing sites
Rochester, Holly and Southfield have presented city-owned options
Oakland County is in the process of facilitating the setup of additional COVID-19 testing sites with the colder months approaching, cases surging statewide, and more residents seeking virus testing.
For months, the county health division has been performing drive- thru COVID-19 testing within outdoor tents in Pontiac and Southfield, both located on county- owned property.
Thom Hardesty, the county’s director of emergency management and homeland security, spoke with county commissioners during a Monday committee meeting about working to identify facilities that the county would use to perform additional COVID-19 testing, and potential COVID-19 virus and flu vaccinations, this winter.
The cities of Rochester, Holly, and Southfield have come forth with city- owned testing site options for the county to utilize. The county is planning to enter into facility use agreements with
each city to be able to perform and facilitate COVID-19 testing on their property.
Since March, a total of 25,846 Oakland County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 with another 1,204 resident dying as a result of contracting the virus.
A total of 573,648 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been performed countywide, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services ( MDHHS). That’s a rate of 456,151 COVID-19 tests per 1 million residents.
Hardesty said the additional sites would provide the county with warmer testing spaces during colder months. In addition to Rochester, Holly, and Southfield, he also told the commissioners that the county is working to identify additional sites in the southeast part of the county.
“We’ve found some communities that would be willing to share use of their faculties with the health department for continued testing or even vaccinations,” said Hardesty Monday to commissioners on the pandemic response and economic recovery committee.
The Oakland County Departments of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and Corporation Counsel have drafted, reviewed, and approved the facility use agreements, which could also be used with additional communities if necessary.
David Woodward ( DRoyal Oak), chairman of the county board of commissioners, will have to sign each of these agreements, and the board approve each of them, before they can be executed. Each of the city councils will also need to review and approve the agreements.
Since Oct. 1, when cases began surging statewide, a total of 173,736 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been conducted countywide. Of that total, 11,985 have come back positive for COVID-19, a positivity rate of 6.89%. It was also during early October when the Michigan Supreme Court invalidated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19-related executive orders.
Statewide, the positivity testing rate has fluctuated between 4% and 12% since the beginning of October while trending between 10% and 12% during November.
Since Oct. 1, when cases began surging statewide, a total of 173,736 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been conducted countywide. Of that total, 11,985 have come back positive for COVID-19, a positivity rate of 6.89%. It was also during early October when the Michigan Supreme Court invalidated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19-related executive orders.