Concerns have been raised over individuals living in multi-resident housing, such as apartments or dormitories, having issues with ordering these tests. Claims have been made regarding individuals unable to order as the U.S. Postal Service system is not recognizing unit numbers as different residences. As a result of this, multi-resident housing is limited to four tests for the entire building.
As a result of these issues with multi-resident housing, NSU’s Office of Residential Life and Housing, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, are providing residential students with an alternative method for ordering at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests. Residential students will be provided in a single at-home, rapid COVID-19 test. Students from all dorms, including University Pointe, can request a rapid COVID-19 test by filling out a form that can be found here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MS0rLD4u8U21cfs3wEL_G6jJiwknYU1Or2D6f8H0fXdUM1JXSzYxTjNDQlUxMTdIOVFaVUxRSzlJVS4u.
This form was sent to all residential students on Jan. 27. The tests will be delivered through the NSU mailing system. For University Pointe residents, tests will be delivered to The Commons mail room.
In mid-January, the federal government launched their website for residences to order at-home COVID-19 rapid tests. This initiative, headed by the Biden administration and available through the U.S. Postal Service, allows for four free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to be delivered per residence.
The Biden administration released a statement last month stating that they had purchased one billion rapid COVID-19 at home tests to provide to residences across the U.S. As of Jan. 19, half a billion rapid COVID-19 tests were distributed across the country through the U.S. Postal Service. Four free tests per residential address are available to order on https://www.covidtests.gov/. Distribution began in late January.
The initial release of the website was reported limited capacity; however, the Biden administration did not explain what will be limited about the capacity of the website. Additionally, there will be a hotline to go along with the website to assist individuals with the order process. For assistance contact the hotline at 1-800-232-0233 or the U.S. Postal Service.
The US averaged 777,453 new COVID-19 cases and 1,797 new deaths per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University as of the release of the Biden administration’s statements, “Overall, the Biden administration has pledged to acquire 1 billion rapid tests — initially the 500 million to distribute by mail to Americans for free, with another 500 million announced recently to meet future demand.”
