The USPS explained its COVID-19 testing kit distribution plan in a post to employees on the Link blog today. The Postal Service will start delivering the kits this month to households across the nation, starting “soon.”
By way of background, the government partnered with the USPS to package and deliver four at-home testing kits to American households that choose to order them, according to the White House. All orders in the continental United States will be sent through First Class Package Service, with shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Territories and APO/FPO/DPO addresses sent through Priority Mail.
The goal: to ship the test kits within 7-12 days of ordering.
The USPS will send an email containing an estimated delivery date and a number to track the status on usps.com to those people who choose to provide an email address when ordering the kits.
Note that on a FAQs page on the USPS website, it provides a phone number (1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489), Hours: 8 am – Midnight Eastern, 7 days per week).
The full announcement to USPS workers published January 21st follows:
COVID-19 tests: USPS to begin deliveries soon
The COVID-19 test kits can be ordered online.
The Postal Service will deliver 500 million rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits to households across the nation, beginning this month.
USPS will ship the kits through a partnership with the White House, which has set up COVIDTests.gov, a website where people can order the kits for free.
“The United States Postal Service is proud to fulfill its mission of service to the nation by delivering COVID test kits as a part of this important public health initiative of the Biden administration,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Tests will be available for every U.S. household, including those in U.S. territories. Tests can also be shipped to U.S. military and diplomatic addresses overseas.
To promote broad access, the initial program will allow for four free tests per residential address.
The program is intended to ensure that people have rapid at-home COVID-19 tests available in the weeks and months ahead, as they have the need to test.
When placing an order, there will be an option for people to provide an email address to receive notifications with updates, including a confirmation email.
Once an order is shipped, the person who placed the order will receive an email with an estimated delivery date and a number to track the status on usps.com.
COVIDTests.gov has more information, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has self-testing guidance.
SOURCE: USPS Link newsletter
