In the mail: Free COVID-19 tests to be sent again

The federal government will once again be providing free at-home COVID-19 test kits for free, mailed directly to consumers.

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The Biden administration announced that after a three-month stoppage, four rapid virus test kits will once again be shipped via the post office for free, The Associated Press reported.

They can be ordered through covidtests.gov and the link is live.

The tests are being sent once again because of the winter surge of COVID-19, the White House said Thursday morning.

The Biden administration said that “cases are on the rise again as families are spending more time indoors and gathering for the holidays.”

The White House has also issued its COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan which includes:

• Free COVID-19 at-home test kits mailed.
• Free COVID-19 tests distributed from trusted locations such as clinics, schools and food banks.
• Making vaccines and treatments available to everyone as cases increase.
• Potential pop-up vaccination clinics.
• Surge testing sites.
• Test to treat sites.
• Making clinical personnel available for deployment to support areas that are overwhelmed with cases.
• Pre-positioning supplies such as N95 masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators.
• Monitoring variants.
• Developing a playbook for nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
• Expanding who is allowed to administer vaccines.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were nearly 3,000 COVID-19-related deaths for the week ending Dec. 7, but hospitalization rates were lower than this time last year.

The seven-day average of cases reached 459,000 for the week that ended Dec. 7, an increase from 307,000 the week that ended Nov. 30, but CDC officials say the number of cases is actually higher since people are either not tested or use at-home tests that are not reported back to health officials, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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