Orange County is expanding its at-home coronavirus testing to all its residents, health officials announced Tuesday.
The county initially started with just 12,000 saliva-based testing kits that were only available to residents in Santa Ana and Anaheim — cities hit hardest by the pandemic in Orange County.
In this second phase, Orange County plans to make 500,000 at-home test kits from Ambry Genetics available countywide by the end of the year, Chairwoman Michelle Steel said in a news release.
Orange County residents can go to ochealthinfo.com/covidtest to have test kits shipped directly to their homes.
If an online order is placed for a kit by 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, the kit will arrive the next day, officials said.
Ambry Genetics can process 4,000 tests each day, and those tested should get their results after about 48 hours, according to the county.
Los Angeles County has also launched a similar at-home coronavirus testing program, except its kits involve nasal swabs.
Both counties’ test kits contain detailed instructions on how to collect a specimen, as well as a prepaid return label for FedEx so the sample can be dropped off.
The expanded testing in Orange County comes as the county experiences a spike in infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations.
As of Wednesday, 93,126 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Orange County, including 1,633 who have died.
“In our fight against COVID-19, we continue to leverage all available resources to provide convenient and reliable testing our residents,” Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said. “We anticipate the convenience of online test ordering and reporting, telehealth support, and at-home sample collection will provide greater support to OC residents as case counts continue to surge across the county.”