MISSOULA - Additional free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 test kits will be handed out this week by the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management (OEM).
The kits will be available at the Missoula County Elections Center at 140 North Russell Street on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Each kit contains two at-home COVID-19 tests and one kit per household member will be distributed.
“Test kits may be difficult to find locally, and we do not anticipate any more deliveries at this time,” OEM Director Adriane Beck said. “This is a great opportunity to pick up a test kit for your household and keep them on-hand in case someone gets sick.”
OEM distributed 5,650 at-home COVID test kits on Sunday at Fort Missoula with Beck noting there was a constant stream of vehicles at the drive-through event. Partner agencies have also distributed additional test kits in Clinton, Frenchtown and Seeley Lake.
Gov. Greg Gianforte recently announced the state ordered 650,000 COVID-19 Antigen Home COVID tests to distribute statewide. A total of 25,980 kits were given to Missoula County.
The omicron variant continues to be the dominant strain in the county and early identification and self-isolation for people who test positive are important measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and ease the stress on the healthcare system, a news release states.
People can also order free COVID-19 test kits from the federal government to be delivered to their homes by visiting https://www.covidtests.gov/ or calling 1-800-232-0233. Local pharmacies also sell at-home COVID-19 tests, although supplies are often limited.
People who test positive for COVID-19 should immediately begin isolating themselves from others, seek medical care if necessary, notify close contacts, and report their results to http://missoula.co/athometest.
Health officials also ask people who are experiencing COVID-like symptoms and test negative using at-home tests to schedule a PCR test with the Missoula City-County Health Department or their healthcare provider.
Information on scheduling a test with MCCHD can be found online at https://www.missoulainfo.com/.