INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Beginning Monday, every U.S. household can once again order free COVID-19 tests to ship directly to their home. Each household can order up to four free tests.

About the free tests:

• Are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR
• Can be taken at home or other locations. Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required);
• Can be used for testing whether you have COVID-⁠19 symptoms or not
• Can be used for testing whether you are up to date on your COVID-⁠19 vaccines or not.
• Are also referred to as self-⁠tests or over-the-counter (OTC) tests

The U.S. government says the at-home tests will continue to be provided at no cost to everyone, including those who are uninsured and those who live in underserved communities through outreach programs.

Contact a HRSA health center, Test to Treat site, or ICATT location near you to learn how to access low- or no-cost COVID-19 tests provided by the federal government. For help placing an order for the free at-home tests, call the team at vaccine.gov for help at 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).

The government also has a web page dedicated to frequently asked questions.

There are also thousands of free testing sites still open across Indiana and the U.S. These sites offer free antigen and PCR COVID-19 tests. These are also available to the uninsured.

The Federal Drug Administration is also reminding people to check expiration dates on any past COVID-19 tests and be sure to check the FDA’s website before throwing tests away because many of the expiration dates have been extended. People can check the agency’s website for the latest dates as part of the “Before You Throw Out” campaign.

Coronavirus hospitalizations have been on the rise in the U.S. The CDC reports that hospitalizations increased by 7.7% in the most recent week of data collection, and deaths increased by 12.5% for the same time period. Health officials have noted that positivity data is unreliable because so many Americans are testing at home with positive results going unreported.

You can voluntarily report positive or negative COVID-19 test results through MakeMyTestCount.org to help with public health efforts.