The Postal Service will deliver 500 million rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits to households across the nation, beginning this month.
USPS will ship the kits through a partnership with the White House, which has set up COVIDTests.gov, a website where people can order the kits for free.
“The United States Postal Service is proud to fulfill its mission of service to the nation by delivering COVID test kits as a part of this important public health initiative of the Biden administration,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Tests will be available for every U.S. household, including those in U.S. territories. Tests can also be shipped to U.S. military and diplomatic addresses overseas.
To promote broad access, the initial program will allow for four free tests per residential address.
The program is intended to ensure that people have rapid at-home COVID-19 tests available in the weeks and months ahead, as they have the need to test.
When placing an order, there will be an option for people to provide an email address to receive notifications with updates, including a confirmation email.
Once an order is shipped, the person who placed the order will receive an email with an estimated delivery date and a number to track the status on usps.com.
COVIDTests.gov has more information, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has self-testing guidance.