SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — Martial Cottle Park in San Jose was one of four distribution sites that opened up Saturday throughout Santa Clara County, including Foothill College in the Los Altos Hills.
The county will continue to pass the free iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests out through next Saturday.
“You can’t get them on the shelves, yeah, and it’s hard to get them at work,” says Suzie who is a mental health therapist. “So, I saw this. They sent this through work. And, I thought, oh my gosh, this is a great opportunity to just go pick some up and have some at home.”
The county chose to purchase and hand out a total of 60,000 test kits — separate from the free tests being offered by the federal government.
This is as people struggle to find the kits in stores and online.
On Friday, within hours of making 15,000 appointments available for Santa Clara County residents to pickup four free kits starting Saturday.
All appointments were booked up.
“This is definitely helpful,” said county resident Justin Paular.
Another resident says it is a relief to have these free at-home tests.
The county says the tests are accurate, and that people are not required to report the results whether positive or negative.
“With therapy, you have to see people face to face to pick up and be able to do your work. So, this is amazing to be able to pick stuff up and keep myself and my family safe,” says Suzie who is a mental health therapist.
Although the county says this first round of tests have been accounted for and will be claimed, they’re hoping to order more in the coming weeks.