COLORADO, USA — The Colorado Department of Health and Environment's (CDPHE) Friday that a program for at-home rapid COVID-19 testing has been expanding to include restaurant workers.
The program allows eligible individuals to order free tests and use them at home under the guidance of a telehealth provider.
This expansion comes at a time when some restaurants in the state may be increasing their capacity limits.
The new COVID-19 dial 3.0, which went into effect Wednesday, allows Five-star restaurants and gyms in Levels Blue and Yellow to operate at 100% capacity with 6 feet of distance between parties.
Adding food service workers to the list prioritizes them to receive some of the two million COVID-19 test kits free of charge, according to the CDPHE website.
“Our main priority continues to be keeping Coloradans safe and healthy. Rapid, At-Home Binax tests are another tool to mitigate the virus while the vaccine rollout continues,” said Scott Bookman, COVID-19 Incident Commander, CDPHE. “Food services employees continue to report to work every day and play a huge role in getting our economy back on track. We are confident that these tests will help keep our restaurants open and our food services workers safe.”
>Video aired Feb. 11 and depicts how the at-home COVID test help in schools.
Foodservice employees can enroll in the program by filling out a Google Form that verifies their employer and email address. Once applicants are approved, they will receive an email from CDPHE detailing how they can order their own free testing kit, delivered directly to their homes via Amazon, said CDPHE on their site.
The test kits will contain six tests, which recipients can use to test themselves on every fifth-day, said CDPHE. Users are eligible to order their next Binax At-Home testing kit 20 days after their previous order.
Once the kit is delivered, individuals will log onto a telehealth portal and receive guided instruction in English and Spanish, says the CDPHE website.
Workers will need two internet-enabled devices to conduct the test at home.
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