Some Sacramento Public Library Locations Giving Out Free Rapid COVID-19 Tests, As Supplies Last

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With COVID-19 cases spiking, test kits are now also in high demand.

To help meet that rush, the Sacramento and Folsom public library systems are making testing kits available for free.

Sacramento County officials say more than 91,000 test kits have been issued to regional libraries. The kits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and they're being limited to two per person. No library card is required.

Each kit will come with two COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests. They'll be able to provide results within 15 minutes.

On Tuesday, all of the Sacramento Public Library's 28 locations were distributing the test kits during regular hours. However, many locations quickly ran out of kits to give out.

Some locations will have a limited supply of kits for curbside pick-up on Wednesday. The following library branches will be distributing the kits until supplies run out: Arcade, Carmichael, Central, Colonial Heights, Belle Cooledge,  Del Paso, Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., McKinley, South Natomas, North Highlands-Antelope, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Sylvan Oaks, and Valley Hi-Laguna.

Sacramento City Unified schools sent many students home with rapid tests before winter break. Out of the some-20,000 tests results that have come back so far, the district says 500 have come back positive.

California's COVID-19 test positivity rate has been spiking over the past few weeks, with the state's dashboard now showing it at 20.4 percent.

Other community-based testing sites remain in operation around Sacramento County. People should pre-register online, as the lines for these locations have seen long lines from the rush people looking for tests after the holidays. The sites and registration information can be found here.

In:
• Coronavirus