Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests Program to Be Suspended

An at-home COVID-19 nasal swab testing kit provided by the Los Angeles County Home Test Collection program, which provides test kits to county residents for free via mail, is seen in this file photo. Courtesy of the County of Los Angeles

The federal government is suspending its free at-home COVID-19 test program this week, according to a website set up by the government, following a decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

The COVIDTests.gov website recently posted a banner alert, stating that it will suspend taking orders for free COVID-19 tests after March 8, 2024.

Orders for free tests placed on or before March 8 will still be delivered, it stated. The program was relaunched in September last year after being temporarily shut down in May.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that it will still distribute free COVID tests to long-term care facilities, food banks, health centers, and schools, Axios reported.

The move comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its recommendations for the virus, which no longer require people to stay home for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.

The updated guidance recommends that people who contracted a respiratory virus stay home, and they can resume normal activities when their symptoms improve overall and their fever subsides for 24 hours without medication.

“Today’s announcement reflects the progress we have made in protecting against severe illness from COVID-19,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.

“However, we still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses, this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick,” she added.

COVID-19 No Longer an Emergency

The CDC said that while the virus remains a threat, it is now less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity and improved tools to prevent and treat the disease.

“Importantly, states and countries that have already adjusted recommended isolation times have not seen increased hospitalizations or deaths related to COVID-19,” it stated.

According to the agency, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 and influenza diseases remain “elevated” but are decreasing in some parts of the United States.

As of Feb. 17, the percentage of COVID-related deaths decreased from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent, while the percentages of influenza and RSV deaths remained stable at 0.7 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

The COVIDTests.gov website, set up during the Omicron variant record surge in cases, helped U.S. households secure COVID-19 tests at no cost.

Free iHealth COVID-19 antigen rapid tests from the federal government after being delivered in San Anselmo, Calif., on Feb. 04, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In September 2022, the free test program was halted after Congress failed to provide additional funding to replenish the nation’s stockpile of tests. The program was relaunched two months later.

Reuters contributed to this report.