One year, 10 months and eight days after the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans will be able to order for free, home tests from the government. From January 19th, you will be able to visit COVIDTests.gov and request tests, which will be sent to your home.
For now, the site has only one landing page in English and Spanish. He notes that shipping costs will also be covered.
The Biden administration is buying a billion rapid home tests to give free to US residents. The hope is to ensure that everyone has a test on hand when they need it. The White House said 500 million of those tests will be available on January 19. At first, you can apply for four per home address.
A phone line is being set up so that anyone unable to access the site can place an order. The government says it is working with national and local organizations to help people in at-risk and affected communities secure testing.
One important thing to note: Tests will usually ship within 7-12 days of ordering. This timeline won’t be incredibly helpful for people who have symptoms of COVID-19 or have close contact with a positive case and don’t have one. test at home accessible.
Still, these free trials are worth stocking up on, especially considering their demand. Even the Twitter accounts known for helping people secure new game consoles are providing stock alerts for COVID-19 testing these days.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.