The U.S. government announced on May 16 that it has obtained the funding for a third round of free COVID-19 tests for U.S. households.

This is the third round of free at-home tests to become available from the federal government. The first round of free tests, which were delivered in January and February, brought four free test kits to each requested household. In March, four more COVID-19 tests were offered in the second round of free testing.

Intending to provide quicker access to testing for American families, the federal government has doubled the amount of COVID-19 tests available to each household in this round of free testing.

“As the highly transmissible subvariants of Omicron drive a rise in cases in parts of the country, free and accessible tests will help slow the spread of the virus,” according to a White House fact sheet.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations begin to rise once again. According to the National Public Radio, COVID-19 infections have risen 60% in the last two weeks.

With greater access to free testing, the White House hopes to reduce infection rates and subsequent hospitalizations throughout the country.

Information on how to receive this round of free COVID-19 test kits can be found here. For guidance on at-home COVID-19 testing, visit our TIG Advisors blog article.