Town Of Stonington: ​​​​​Coronavirus Home Test Kits - Community Distribution Update

Press release from the Town of Stonington:

December 28, 2021

** 12-29-21, 8pm Update: We are awaiting further information, but it is likely that the shipment of tests will be delayed enough to impact the below plan. As soon as we know more information we will update this message. Thank you for your understanding Stonington. ***

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In an effort to help curb the spread of COVID-19 during this heavy travel and holiday season, state agencies are working together to distribute a limited number of COVID iHealth test kits to Towns and Cities across the State. This is meant to be a stop-gap-measure to help curb further holiday spread. The State’s primary focus is on the members of the public who have interacted or intend to interact with numbers of people whose COVID status is unknown. We will continue to have additional testing options in and around our community, and there are also further federal plans underway to get more tests to people later in January/early February.

Residents can pick up a test kit at various locations around town Thursday afternoon into Friday morning. Please see details below for more information on sites and times (please know test kit amounts may vary slightly, as we won’t pick-up our allotment from the State until Thursday morning).

We are asking each household to take a maximum of two test kits. We appreciate your understanding that this is a very limited supply. Stonington will be getting about 2,000 kits. In addition to the general public, we will be distributing test kits to our Fire and EMS partners, local daycares, one eldercare facility, and Municipal Staff (including Public Works, Police, Transfer Station, Town Hall and Human Services). Once a given location is out of tests, they will not have any further tests available. We will post on the Town website and social media channels when a site is out of tests. We have done our best to choose different times and locations to make the distribution as accessible as possible for residents.

In addition to those designated for the general public, the state has purchased another one million iHealth kits – each containing two tests for a total of two million tests – that will be distributed to K-12 schools statewide. Distribution of those kits, which will also include a supply of N95 masks, will begin in January and continue through the school year as supplies last. Planning for this initiative is being conducted in partnership with the Connecticut State Department of Education. More details on the distribution of tests for schools will be announced in early January. In the coming weeks we will also likely be getting N95 masks for the general public, but details of the distribution are still being finalized.

It is also important that all residents who are able to get their COVID-19 vaccine, and if you are eligible to please get a booster. Vaccinations have been able to save lives and keep people who get COVID out of the hospital.

For more information on additional testing opportunities please visit the Town site here, and for vaccines here.

We are extremely grateful to our community partners who have helped us create this expedited plan to get tests into the hands of residents- our Police, EMS, Fire, Emergency Management and a number of additional Town staff members. Please wear a mask, and hopefully a smile under that mask, when you come to pick-up your test kits. Note where it says ‘drive through’, you are also still welcome on foot or bike.

Thank you!

More about the iHealth Tests

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has granted emergency use authorization for the iHealth COVID-19 antigen rapid test, which is completed with an anterior nasal swab and is not the deep nasal test. The complete instructions for the at-home rapid test are available on the iHealth packaging in English and Spanish. Results are usually available in 15 minutes. More information on the iHealth antigen home test kits is available at ihealthlabs.com.

This press release was produced by the Town of Stonington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.