Hey NC: Don't Forget to Order Your Second Batch of Free COVID Tests

Tests for COVID from the federal government get sent right to your home, shortly after you sign up.

By Sarah Ovaska

April 18, 2022

Every household can get two sets of at-home tests mailed to them. Don’t forget to get yours!

So, COVID is still a thing, and you can still get a breakthrough case even if you’ve been vaccinated.

Cases have been inching up in North Carolina as a more contagious subvariant spreads across the state, though hospitalizations and deaths remain far below where things were earlier in the pandemic.

The unpredictability and continued threat of COVID is why the federal government is sending two sets of at-home tests to every household in the country, for free. That’s eight nose swabs coming your way from the federal government, so you can do your part to keep those in your community safe.

You can order your tests through the federal government at www.covid.gov/tests or by calling 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

“You can now order another round, shipped directly to your home and for free,” President Joe Biden said in a March video. “So, we’re prepared no matter what COVID brings.”

If you get a positive test result, stay home and isolate for at least five days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. You may need to isolate longer, depending on your circumstances. The at-home tests are not as sensitive as the PCR tests you can get from a pharmacy, doctor’s office, or public health agency, meaning that if you test negative and have symptoms, you should re-test.
The public health agency launched an interactive quarantine and isolation calculator here to determine how long your isolation should be.