With at-home testing kits nearly impossible to find at local pharmacies, on Monday the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced eligible county residents can sign up at covid19.lacounty.gov/hometest to have an at-home-testing kit sent to their home.

The kit is the standard nasal swab test and is provided by Picture by Fulgent Genetics, a certified and accredited clinical diagnostic lab. L.A. County residents can also sign up to receive the test on Fulgent Genetics website at https://picturegenetics.com/covid19?c=lacathome.

The genetic lab has a limit to how many residents can sign up to order a free home test per day. Fulgent Genetics also offers an at-home test that residents can pay for via https://picturegenetics.com/covid19 starting at $119. Test kits cannot be shipped to P.O. boxes.

The at-home test collection kit provided by the county’s partnership with Fulgent Genetics is free to residents who either have symptoms of COVID-19 or think they were exposed to the virus. The kits can be used immediately or between three and five days of residents receiving them.

After placing their order, residents will receive their test kit within two days. Once the test is received, residents are encouraged to take it by following the outlined steps on the box and submit their tests back to Fulgent Genetics as soon as possible. Residents will receive their ready-to-view results via email approximately 48 hours after Fulgent Genetics gets the test.

Inside the kits, residents will receive a pre-paid overnight envelope to place their tests in. County residents can call FedEx at 1-(800)-463-3339 to schedule a one-time FedEx pickup, or drop off the packaged sample back to the Fulgent Genetics lab via FedEx express drop box.

While the test is free of charge to eligible residents, residents are asked to enter health insurance information so the county can get reimbursed for the cost of the test. No insurance is necessary to get the test; however, residents must have an email account to sign up. Guardians and caregivers may order the test kits for those whom they provide care for, according to L.A. County’s website.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reminds residents who take the at-home test to stay at home, avoid contact with others, wear a mask and to wash your hands often.

For more info on this program, visit www.covid19.lacounty.gov/hometest. To schedule a COVID-19 vaccination or booster appointment, visit https://myturn.ca.gov. Many Claremonters also had success getting home testing kits at Hendrick’s Pharmacy on Harvard Avenue in Claremont.