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.
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 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.
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.
