Wisconsin To Offer At-Home COVID-19 Testing Option

MADISON,WI — At-home saliva collection kits that test for the coronavirus will be available to all Wisconsinites, officials said in a news release Tuesday.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced a new contract to get the kits to residents. The tests will be available at no cost to anyone with or without symptoms.

“We believe that anyone in Wisconsin who needs to be tested for COVID-19 should have access to a test, and I’m proud of our statewide testing efforts throughout this pandemic,” Evers said. “We also know that getting to a health care provider or a community testing site isn’t easy for everyone, and that’s why we are excited to offer this new option to make testing even more accessible for folks across our state.”

Wisconsinites can order a collection kit online and have it shipped to their home. The kit will include detailed instructions on how to collect the saliva, which includes a video call with a testing supervisor through Vault Medical Services, and ship it back via UPS dropbox to the lab for processing, the release said.

A saliva test is similar to a nasal swab test you might receive from a provider or at a community testing site. Like a nasal swab test, a saliva test determines whether you have an active COVID-19 infection and can spread it to others.

More information can be found on the Wisconsin COVID-19 testing webpage.