Federal government’s free rapid test website goes live

The US federal government launched its free COVID-19 rapid test request website a day earlier than expected, allowing many Americans to order free rapid tests on Tuesday.

The website, http://covidtests.gov/ , was expected to launch on Wednesday but instead launched in a limited capacity on Tuesday to ensure a smooth rollout the following day, according to a White House official. Many Americans were able to use the site to request 4 tests per household on Tuesday after the Biden administration purchased 500 million tests to send to Americans via USPS.

While most orders placed on Tuesday were successful, some apartment residents took to Twitter to report issues with their address not being recognized. “This is occurring in a small percentage of orders” among people whose addresses “are not registered as multi-unit buildings,” USPS spokesman David Partenheimer told The Washington Post.

The half million test kits are only the first batch planned for distribution to Americans by the Biden administration, who is working to finalize contracts for more test kits this year.