Pontiac, Michigan – Oakland County will expand its free drive-thru COVID-19 testing to include school-age children beginning August 31. Children must be from 4- to 17-years-old, have symptoms of coronavirus, and be residents of or attend school in Oakland County. Testing is available weekdays by appointment only.

“As the school year begins, we are here to support schools, teachers and families, learning in-person or remotely,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said. “The availability of testing for symptomatic children is important to isolating and controlling the spread of this disease in our schools and community.”

Parents can begin scheduling an appointment for their symptomatic children beginning Thursday August 27, 2020 through the Oakland County Health Division’s Nurse on Call hotline at 800-848-5533. No doctor’s note or prescription is needed plus there is no fee.

“COVID-19 symptoms are milder in children than in adults, and some infected children may not have obvious signs of being sick,” Oakland County Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said. “It is very important that parents and guardians trust their instincts and be overly cautious of all health and behavior changes, and keep their child home from school and contact their pediatrician, family care practitioner or our Nurse on Call if their child is even mildly ill.”

The Health Division encourages all residents to monitor their health symptoms carefully, including daily temperature checks, and to stay home when feeling mildly sick, or if feeling the onset of symptoms.

The Health Division offers drive-thru testing on Mondays and Wednesdays at the South Oakland Health Center at 27725 Greenfield Road in Southfield; Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Oakland County government campus, 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac; and on Fridays at Oakland Community College, Orchard Ridge Campus at 28696 Oakland, Farmington Hills.

General COVID-19 resources can be found on the Health Division’s website at www.oakgov.com/covid or by contacting Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 or [email protected]. Nurse on Call is available 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday. For up-to-date public health information, follow @publichealthOC on Facebook and Twitter.

For media inquiries only please contact Bill Mullan, Oakland County media and communications officer, at 248-858-1048.