Free COVID tests are back. Here’s how to order yours

Contents of government-provided, at-home COVID test sit on table

The contents of an at-home rapid test provided by the federal government and distributed nation-wide by the U.S. Postal Service sits on a table in southern Michigan.

Free at-home COVID tests are back for Michigan households.

As of Thursday, Sept. 26, residents could visit covidtests.gov and request four test kits be shipped to them through the U.S. Postal Service at no cost.

Shipments will go out starting the week of Sept. 30. Upon submitting an order, residents have the option to provide an email address to track their shipment.

RELATED: COVID has climbed this summer in the U.S. What about Michigan?

Test results are typically available in 30 minutes or less. Rapid antigen tests can identify a positive infection even if you do not have symptoms.

Health officials say it’s still useful to report your results to public health agencies at MakeMyTestCount.org to allow for more accurate public health data.

COVID cases began to rise in late June throughout Michigan. Last week there were about 4,000 cases and two deaths reported in Michigan -- both declines from the previous week.

The percentage of emergency department and urgent care visits with a COVID diagnosis climbed from about 0.5% at the end of June to 3% in early September.

Since then, the rate has dropped a little to 2% as of Sept. 21 data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

To order your tests, visit covidtests.gov or call 1-800-232-0233.

If you have tests that have expired, visit the FDA’s list of extended expiration dates before discarding them to see if the tests are still useful.

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