(NEXSTAR) – Searching for more at-home COVID tests? You can now order a third round of free tests from the federal government.
The program initially opened in January, allowing each household to request one order of four free COVID tests to be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service. In March, a second round of four free COVID tests was made available.
Now, you can now order a third batch of free COVID tests.
“Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order a 3rd round of free at-home tests,” the program’s website, COVIDtests.gov, reads as of Monday night.
Unlike previous rounds, each order will now include eight rapid antigen COVID tests, coming in two separate packages of four each, according to the order form on the USPS website. Like previous rounds, these tests will be shipped for free.
To order your tests, go to COVIDtests.gov and select “Order Free At-Home Tests.” You’ll be taken to a form where you can enter your name and residential address. (If you’re having trouble getting the website to recognize your address, check here for common issues.)
Once you’ve completed the form, and as long as you provided your email address, you’ll receive two confirmation emails from USPS, one for each of your packages. Delivery updates will later be sent to your email.
USPS will also ask if this is the first or second order for your home. If it is, you can place another order. For those that haven’t ordered free tests from the government before, you can order an additional eight tests for a total of 16. If you didn’t submit an order in one of the previous rounds, you can order an additional four for a total of 12.
Available tests are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR tests. All of the tests being shipped are FDA-authorized, but you will not be able to select which brand you receive. The tests give results within 30 minutes and can be used whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms or are vaccinated. You also won’t be able to select how many testing kits you receive, either.
This new round of tests comes as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration.
The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out.
The death toll less than 2 1/2 years into the outbreak is based on death certificate data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. But the real number of lives lost to COVID-19, either directly or indirectly, as a result the disruption of the health care system in the world’s richest country, is believed to be far higher.
The Associated Press and Nexstar Media Wire’s Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.
