Remind Employees: Federal Government Providing Free Masks, COVID Tests

As Connecting the Dots reported last week, the U.S. government is making free at-home COVID-19 tests available through a federal website, COVIDTests.gov. Households can order four tests at a time.

The tests will typically ship within 7-12 business days of ordering and will come via the U.S. Postal Service. All orders in the continental United States will be sent through First Class Package Service while shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Territories and APO/FPO/DPO addresses will be sent through Priority Mail. The federal government also has launched a free call-in phone line so that Americans who have difficulty accessing the internet or need additional support can phone-in orders for their tests.

After launching the testing effort, on January 18 the Biden administration announced that it will make 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents over the coming weeks. As The Hill explained, the masks will be available for pickup at certain local pharmacies and community health centers. They will start become available late this week and will be dispensed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The masks are being deployed from the Strategic National Stockpile, which currently has more than 750 million N95 masks.