Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department Offers Drive Up COVID-19 Testing

From staff reports

The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department will start providing drive up testing one day per week at each office starting in Leelanau on Tuesday, September 8, and Benzie on Wednesday, September 9.

What you need to know:

• Tuesdays, at Leelanau Office (7401 E. Duck Lake Road, Lake Leelanau, MI 49653)
• Wednesdays, at Benzie Office (6051 Frankfort Hwy, Benzonia, MI 49616).
• Testing is available from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., by appointment only.
• Priority for testing is those with symptoms or those who have a known exposure to COVID-19.
• Please bring your insurance card. There is no charge to participants for testing. If uninsured you can still be tested and will not be charged.

• To schedule an appointment, call 231-882-4409.

What to expect: When you arrive, you will park in one of the reserved parking spots and call the number on the sign to let the staff know you have arrived. The testing is done through a nasopharygeal swab (e.g. through your nose to the back of your throat) and will be performed by health care professionals. You will remain in your car throughout the entire testing process. Results are expected to take 4-7 days and participants will be notified of results by the Benzie- Leelanau District Health Department

“The numbers of tests administered per day across the region continue to climb due to the concerted efforts of health departments, hospitals, and providers to continually build testing capacity,” stated health officer Lisa Peacock. “We are happy to be able to provide another testing opportunity to those in Leelanau and Benzie Counties. It is critically important to maintain testing capacity so that we can continue to meet the demands for testing as school begins but also as an important indicator of our ability to contain transmission.”

“We are in the midst of a very important time as many of our schools, along with their staff, students and parents are embarking on a new school year that is very different than most,” said Peacock yesterday during a weekly media briefing. “The sustained COVID-19 pandemic response has worn on us all but it is so important now to stand united in safety for the best possible educational options for our next generation. We in public health have worked closely with our school partners to support them in their planning and their questions and we stand ready to help them navigate the bumps that may lie ahead. We know that we will not prevent the schools from being touched by COVID. The goal is not to prevent it, that would not be realistic, but rather to contain it. This will best be achieved when everyone approaches this time with care — not just those involved with school, but all of us. The mitigation measures that are required and recommended do not just stop at the door to a school or a business – the decisions all of us make affect everyone while we move about our communities and interact with different people in different places.”