US households are now able to order “an additional eight free at-home tests at COVIDTests.gov—bringing the total number of free tests available to each household since the start of the program to 16,” the White House said in a fact sheet on Tuesday. The tests were first made available on Monday.
The government first launched the website to allow for the order of free tests in January, and Americans were able to order their second round of tests in March. During both rounds, people could order a maximum of four tests per household. This third round doubles that.
“Due to Congress’s failure to provide additional funding for the nation’s Covid-19 response, the Administration cannot continue making the types of federal investments needed to sustain domestic testing manufacturing capacity, and this may jeopardize the federal government’s ability to provide free tests moving forward,” the fact sheet said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to endorse Covid-19 testing for all domestic travelers. Previously, the recommendation to test before domestic travel applied to those who weren’t up to date with their Covid-19 vaccines.