This week will mark the last opportunity for Americans to order their free COVID tests from the government as the White House announced over the weekend that the program will soon be suspended.
"Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2 because Congress hasn’t provided additional funding to replenish the nation’s stockpile of tests," a message on the website to order the tests read.
A senior Biden Administration official told NBC News that the deadline could change, however, if Congress provides a surprise round of funding.
"If Congress provides funding, we will expeditiously resume distribution of free tests through covidtests.gov," the source said. "Until then, we believe reserving the remaining tests for distribution later this year is the best course."
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The tests were part of the government's second round of free shipments to U.S. residents, which included eight tests per household.
In previous rounds of test distributions residents could only claim up to four per household, but residents can now request up to eight of the tests, which will be shipped for free to their residences, according to the United States Postal Service.
You can sign up via the USPS website here through Friday.
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According to the government, each order may contain eight rapid antigen COVID-19 tests. Those tests will come in two separate packages, with four test kits in each package, according to the USPS website.
Shipping on the packages will be free, and tracking numbers will be provided upon sign-up for the test kits.
The funding for the current round of tests came from the American Rescue Plan, according to the release.
In the state of Illinois, more than 6,000 new cases per day are being reported, the highest average since early February.
