Every household can order four more test kits starting today.

As the COVID-19 situation improves in the United States, some aspects of the federal response have been scaled back. One of these is the free at-home rapid COVID tests that were previously available for order. However, due to the holiday season and a rise in cases, the government has decided to reinstate this service as a precautionary measure.

Starting today, December 15, all households in the US can request a new set of at-home COVID test kits from the government’s official website. This service is provided at no cost, and tests ordered today are expected to be shipped by December 19. Officials advise individuals with COVID symptoms to test themselves and possibly reconsider or adjust holiday gatherings and family visits if they are unwell.

President Joe Biden highlighted the increase in COVID cases during the holiday season in a tweet, announcing that each household can now order four free COVID tests for delivery.

Expressing concerns about indoor gatherings during the winter holidays, an unidentified government source spoke to NPR about the potential for the virus to spread more easily.

Federal government offering more free COVID-19 tests for winter https://t.co/GHn93io9Wa

— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) December 15, 2022

In addition to tests, the government is working on making vaccines, antigen tests, and the COVID treatment Paxlovid readily accessible to all citizens throughout the winter months.

Reassuring the public of the government’s readiness, an official mentioned, “We have been in this pandemic for several years now, and we are equipped to handle this situation.”