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Free Rapid Tests to Reach American Homes

REGISTRATION BEGINS JANUARY 19

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Amid a rise of cases in the US due to the omicron variant, Americans can request free deliveries of rapid covid-19 tests to their homes starting January 19, the White House reports. Requests can be made through the COVIDTests.gov website, with a maximum of four per household. However, a White House official explained in a phone call that the tests would take between 7 to 12 days to arrive.

The announcement of the availability of 500 million tests by the administration of president Joe Biden coincides with record numbers of cases and hospitalizations due to omicron in the US. Currently, omicron is the most common variant of coronavirus in the country. In many regions, shortages of this kind of test have been reported, which has made it difficult to contain the new wave of infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that citizens perform this type of testing at home when they experience any of the symptoms of covid-19, such as fever or respiratory problems, or five days after a potential exposure to the virus. The US is the country most affected by the pandemic, with more than 64 million cases of covid-19 and more than 845 thousand deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.