Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Coronavirus

US government suspends free COVID test mail orders

The US Health and Human Services Department has distributed more than 1.8 billion tests across America

Associated Press
Published
close
CDC reportedly considers ending 5-day isolation period for COVID Video

CDC reportedly considers ending 5-day isolation period for COVID

Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel joins 'America Reports' to discuss the possible changes to COVID-19 isolation guidelines and his recent op-ed on President Biden's health.

  • The U.S. government is suspending mail orders for free COVID-19 tests, effective March 8.
  • Households can request tests until 11:59 p.m. PT on March 8 through the United States Postal Service.
  • The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response has distributed over 1.8 billion tests through COVIDTests.gov and other channels.

The U.S. government is suspending mail orders for free COVID-19 tests — at least for now.

Friday March 8 is the last day residential households can request free virus tests shipped through the United States Postal Service. According to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, orders are set to close at 11:59 p.m. PT.

"ASPR has delivered over 1.8 billion free COVID-19 tests to the American people through COVIDTests.gov and direct distribution pathways and will continue distributing millions of tests per week to long-term care facilities, food banks, health centers, and schools," a spokesperson for ASPR said in a prepared statement sent to The Associated Press.

CDC DROPS ITS 5-DAY COVID ISOLATION GUIDELINES

Mail orders for free COVID tests from the government have been paused or expanded before. Despite Friday's suspension, it's still possible for the program to resume again down the road — with ASPR noting that it reserves the right to use COVIDTest.gov in the future as needed.

Covid test website

A United States government website is displayed on a computer on Jan. 19, 2022, in Walpole, Mass., that features a page where people can order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. The U.S. government is suspending mail orders for free COVID-19 tests on March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

The Biden administration first launched its free mail-order COVID tests back in January 2022. The program was most recently reopened in September of last year — and households have been eligible to order to latest round of tests since November.

PROTEST OF CDC’S NEW COVID GUIDANCE PLANNED FOR THIS MONTH IN WASHINGTON, DC: ‘URGENT NEED’

The decision to suspend ordering for the program's sixth round arrives amid lowering case rates coming out of the winter respiratory season, ASPR noted.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the respiratory virus season was likely past its peak following a December surge — but still urged caution.