Free COVID-19 Tests To Be Suspended As IL Cases, Deaths Continue

ILLINOIS — At a time when 33 Illinois counties remain in the high community COVID-19 level, the White House announced over the weekend that U.S. residents will no longer be able to get free tests sent to their homes starting later this week.

The government had been providing free COVID-19 tests that would be sent to residents’ homes as cases of the virus continued last week. But more than 2 ½ years after the pandemic began, the White House said in a statement that the program of sending the tests would be suspended starting on Friday.

The reason? Congress has not “replenished” the nation’s stockpile of free tests because additional funding has not been provided, according to the website where the free tests had been made available.

A spokesman for the Biden administration said that the deadline for the free tests could be extended if Congress approves more money for COVID-19 testing.

"If Congress provides funding, we will expeditiously resume distribution of free tests through covidtests.gov," the White House source told NBC. "Until then, we believe reserving the remaining tests for distribution later this year is the best course."

As of Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that there were 24,297 confirmed or believed new cases of COVID-19 in the state over the previous week. State health officials also reported 82 COVID-19-related deaths between Aug. 19 and Aug. 26.

The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 191 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans, the state health department reported.

Health officials said that 33 Illinois counties were in the high community level, while an additional 48 counties were listed in the medium community category.

On Friday, IDPH also reported that 1,310 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19 and that of those patients, 158 were listed in intensive care while an additional 58 were on ventilators.

The counties in Illinois listed at the high Community Level include Adams, Boone, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Henderson, Jackson, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Marion, Marshall, Massac, Perry, Pike, Pope, Saline, Stephenson, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Whiteside, Williamson and Winnebago.