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Lamont: Residents set to receive COVID-19 home test kits, N95 masks

Binax Covid-19 testing kits are handed out in the Bensonhurst section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on December 23, 2021
BRYAN R. SMITH / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP
Binax COVID-19 testing kits are handed out in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, on Dec. 23, 2021.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday afternoon that 3 million COVID-19 at-home rapid tests and 6 million N95 masks will soon be made available to Connecticut residents.

Lamont said in a written statement that he hopes the tests and masks will help combat a recent surge in cases driven by the coronavirus omicron variant. He said the kits can help the state get off to a good start in 2022 by curbing further spread of the virus.

The state says the kits each contain two rapid tests, and they’ll be distributed in the coming weeks. About 500,000 kits will be available to Connecticut residents beginning Thursday. In January, about 1 million kits will go out to K-12 schools in Connecticut.

This plan, according to the state, costs $18.5 million and is funded by federal COVID-19 relief dollars.

At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling on the White House to increase its COVID-19 testing stockpile. He called for the Defense Production Act to be invoked so that Americans can have more at-home tests available to them.

In advance of the Christmas holiday, Connecticut residents took more than 200,000 COVID-19 tests.

Frankie Graziano is the host of 'The Wheelhouse,' focusing on how local and national politics impact the people of Connecticut.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.