This weekend there is another mass testing event for COVID-19 in Calhoun County. This Battle Creek mass-testing event will take place from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7 at Kellogg Community College.
Calhoun County Public Health Department (CCPHD) is teaming up with the Michigan National Guard, the Michigan State Police, and Kellogg Community College, as well as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the City of Battle Creek to provide free testing to all Calhoun County residents.
This widespread testing event will provide no-cost COVID-19 tests to any resident, regardless of whether they are exhibiting symptoms or have been exposed to a positive coronavirus case.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for all Calhoun County residents to know their status and help us fight COVID-19 countywide. I encourage residents of Pennfield, and all Calhoun County communities, to get tested in this effort to help us understand the spread of the virus," said Pennfield Township Supervisor, Dave Morgan.
All residents are welcome to attend this mass-testing event. Here’s what you need to know:
- Testing is free and available to all. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for verbal consent.
- All participants are asked to wear a face covering and maintain social distancing while awaiting their test.
- Drive-thru and walk-up testing lanes are available. Participants are asked to enter the lot via Roosevelt Street.
- Transportation to this event on Saturday only is available via Battle Creek Transit bus—the 2E Emmett-East Avenue route stops at KCC every half-hour, from 9:20 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Buses do not run on Sundays. You can ride Transit fare-free at this time. Please call Transit at 269-966-3474 for help planning your trip.
- The testing provided is called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. It is done by collecting some mucus from your nose or throat. It is collected with a cotton swab, and it might feel a little weird, but it won’t hurt. This specific type of test is the most reliable test currently available, and will tell us who is currently infected with the virus. Antibody test results are not yet considered reliable, and the data the results provide regard previous exposure to the virus, not information on a person's current/active infection with COVID-19. For this reason, they are not useful in CCPHD’s work of contact tracing the disease in our community.
- Collected samples will be sent to a laboratory where it will be examined for the virus. The analysis process will take a few days to determine if the sample has tested positive for the virus (meaning you are sick with COVID-19) or negative (meaning at that time of the test you were not sick with COVID-19).