Coronavirus case numbers fall, demand for tests remains high

The Federal Government began distributing 500 million home coronavirus tests kits Tuesday, January 18. The Biden administration ordered the kits to make testing more available and equitable, said Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. 

Citizens may go to covidtests.org, where they can get to get up to four free tests per household. Users that provide their name and address will have the tests shipped. 

With coronavirus cases in the latest Omnicron wave now decreasing, the demand for test kits remains high.

On January 11, residents flooded the Downtown Fredericksburg Branch Central Rappahannock Library, snapping up 2,000 test kits. Libraries have been distributing test kits since last fall, and it will be weeks before the Fredericksburg library gets more, said Library System Deputy Director Rebecca Purdy.

During a recent conference call, Senator Tim Kaine (Va.-D) briefly discussed efforts he is participating in to get more free coronavirus testing to Virginia residents.

“It’s been disturbing, depressing to feel like we’ve turned a corner on COVID last summer only to see first the delta, and then the omicron variant pose significant challenges,” said Kaine.

Virginia reported 57,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on January 16, 23,000 fewer than the week before. It’s the first decline since cases began in October 2021.

Kaine caught the virus early on in the pandemic calling the situation “not a joke when you get it,” he said.

The senator recommended continuing to promote vaccination and boosting. Kaine repeated statistics he had received from Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the CDC, who stated that those who remain unvaccinated are 10 times more likely to be infected with the virus, 17 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 20 times more likely to die from the virus than those who are vaccinated. 

Kaine also talked about making available more rapid and affordable testing for the virus so people can test themselves before meeting with others or traveling. The senator mentioned that while most of the world has access to cheap testing, the U.S. has fallen behind, said Kaine. He told a story of family members who live in Germany who can easily get home-based testing from local pharmacies for a low price. 

Kaine says he is one of the multiple politicians to push the Biden administration to ship out the free tests to citizens.