Detroit offers transportation to get Detroiters to COVID-19 testing site, other city updates

(FOX 2) - The city of Detroit is offering transportation options for Detroiters who need a ride to the city’s COVID-19 testing site.

Last week, Duggan sent out the call for companies who can provide transportation to get Detroit residents to the State Fairgrounds for drive-thru coronavirus testing who don't have means to get there on their own. Duggan has repeatedly stated his goal is to get every Detroiter tested who needs to be tested.

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Duggan said the city is offering a $2 ride to the Fairgrounds -- though if you don’t have $2 to spare, they’ll take you anyway. When you call to make an appointment, with your prescription from your doctor, tell the operator you need a ride and they will connect you with a service. Duggan said a sanitized vehicle will come to your home and get you to the appointment on time, then return you to your home.

“We want every single Detroiter regardless of your income, regardless of your neighborhood,” Duggan said.

Click here to learn how drive-thru testing works.

DETROIT NUMBERS

According to Denise Fair, Chief Public Health Officer of the Detroit Health Department, 3,572 confirmed cases and 116 deaths, adding the numbers continue to rise as testing proficiency increases.

Fair also said that grocery stores and convenience stores are an area where people from multiple communities come in close contact -- therefore increasing the risk of transmission.

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She listed a reminder of best practices, including restricting the number of workers on-site, promoting remote work to the fullest extent possible, keeping workers and patrons six feet from each other -- often by marking the floors by state, increasing the standards of facility cleanliness, and other requirements.

INSTANT COVID-19 TESTING

Detroit became the first city this week to use recently developed instant COVID-19 testing.

Last Friday, Abbott Laboratories received approval from the FDA to produce machines that can test if someone has contracted the coronavirus within minutes. Detroit arranged a contract that Sunday to receive five testing machines and 5,000 testing kits to use for first responders.

Duggan said Friday the instant testing so far is “working beautifully.” He said at 4 p.m. that 21 officers tested negative and were cleared to go back to work in the last three hours.

The mayor has said that’s exactly the point of the instant tests -- to get first responders tested as quickly as possible to get them back on the front lines to fight COVID-19, instead of unnecessarily being quarantined.

DETROIT’S WATER RESTART PROGRAM

The mayor addressed the $25 Water Restart Program, which he has called an “enormous success.”

The COVID-19 relief program involves the State of Michigan covering consumers' costs to restore water through April 9 who had their service stopped from not paying or received a notice they were at risk of having their services shut off. After the service is restarted, customers pay $25 per month to keep their water on during the pandemic. The full bill will need to be paid after the COVID-19 situation passes, click here for more information.

“Everybody in the city of Detroit who does not have running water - unless the plumbers are fixing their pipes - should've had them restored,” he said.

Duggan said anyone who does not have running water needs to call the city, and they’ll be out to fix it within 48 hours. That number is (313) 386-9727.

According to the city, more than 1,400 Detroiters have taken advantage since the plan was announced on March 9.

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