By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


State officials say COVID-19 testing remains critical to efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) expanded testing criteria as the state continues to work to increase testing supplies and access. Now anyone displaying mild symptoms or any essential worker still reporting to work in person, whether symptomatic or not, is eligible to get a test with an order from a health care provider. Locally, there are also new drive-thru testing sites that can be accessed by anyone showing symptoms. A listing is available on the Livingston County Health Department’s website. Nearby sites can also be found by visiting Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest and entering a ZIP code.

MDHHS Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy for Health Dr. Joneigh Khaldun says increased testing helps them understand where the disease is so they can identify people at highest risk and make sure they’re quickly implementing best practices for preventing further cases and deaths. The state is also continuing work to increase testing supplies and access. The test is free for most people. Many insurance providers are waiving copays, and those with Medicaid or the Healthy Michigan Plan also have no cost.

Testing is performed with a swab, which means inserting a long Q-tip into the cavity between the nose and mouth for 15 seconds and rotating the swab several times. The swab is repeated on the other side to make sure there is enough material collected. The swab is then inserted into a container and sent to a lab for testing. Khaldun said they’re hearing rumors the test isn’t safe or actually contains coronavirus. She assured that is untrue and the swabs are completely safe and do not contain the virus.