Santa Clara County Officials Unveil Plan To Hand Out Free COVID At-Home Antigen Tests; Here's How To Sign Up
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Santa Clara County officials unveiled a plan Friday to provide a limited number of free at-home antigen tests to local residents amid the surging demand for COVID testing.
Those who live, work or attend school in the county may sign up through www.sccfreetest.org to obtain four at-home tests. Those who are able to secure an appointment may choose from one of the four distribution locations for pick up at a chosen time with the first slots available this Saturday.
Sign-ups on the county website began early Friday with a limit of one appointment per person. Each individual who is awarded a spot will be assigned a unique QR code which must be displayed to receive the tests. Tests are not available on a drop-in basis without an appointment.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for community members to pick up antigen tests for rapid at-home testing," said Miguel Márquez, Chief Operations Officer for the County of Santa Clara. "Testing is key to knowing whether you have COVID, which should help limit the spread of the virus, and will help get people back to their normal lives by safely ending isolation or quarantine early with a negative test."
Officials said the pick-up sites are designed for drive-through operation. However, individuals can also arrive without a vehicle and get the tests so long as they have an appointment.
The four locations are:
- Hellyer County Park, 985 Hellyer Ave., San José
- Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Ave., San José
- Vasona County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos
- Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills (offers evening hours)
Officials said additional kits were also being distributed through the county's outreach teams to disproportionately impacted communities, through nonprofit partner organizations, as well as to first responders and other essential workers.
More than 15,000 appointments will be scheduled between Saturday January 22 and Saturday January 29. County officials will assess whether this program can be expanded based on availability of tests and the need in the community.