There's an effort to get more rapid tests out to people as COVID-19 cases increase across the state. It comes amid a rise of the new Omicron sub-variant.
All people have to do is show up to a city library in Hartford and receive the tests. Residents can get two kits which each contain two tests.
The city of Hartford is planning to distribute 8,000 coronavirus at-home test kits starting Monday.
To pick up tests, you have to be a Hartford resident with proof of where you live. Anyone eligible can head to the front desk of any of these libraries:
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- Hartford Public Library, Downtown Branch - 500 Main St.
- Hartford Public Library, Camp Field Branch - 30 Campfield Ave.
- Hartford Public Library, Albany Avenue Branch - 1250 Albany Ave.
- Hartford Public Library, Barbour Branch - 261 Barbour St.
- Hartford Public Library, Dwight Branch - 7 New Park Ave.
- Hartford Public Library, Park Street Library at The Lyric - 603 Park St.
The distribution will take place during normal library hours.
“As we continue to live with COVID over the long-term, testing will remain an important tool to help reduce the spread. With this new sub-variant making a surge here in Connecticut, we want to make sure that Hartford residents have easy and convenient access to at-home tests," Mayor Luke Bronin said in a statement.
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This comes as the state's positivity rate has been creeping up amid the spread of the Omicron sub-variant called BA.2.
On Friday, the seven-day rolling average for the positivity rate was over five percent and hospitalizations also went up from the week prior.
An important part of keeping people out of the hospital are vaccines. A new report from The Commonwealth Fund, which included several Yale researchers, found the vaccination effort in the United States has prevented 17 million hospitalizations and 2.2 million deaths.
Test kit distribution will go on as long as supplies last.
