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State Pilot Program Expands Access To COVID-19 Home Testing Kits

Courtesy of Business Wire via AP

North Carolina is now providing free COVID-19 home testing kits to people on food assistance and those with disabilities.

The initiative is the result of a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and LabCorp.

The goal is to provide 35,000 home testing kits to eligible residents who are receiving food assistance from the state or who may be disabled and unable to travel to a testing site.

Those who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have been exposed to the virus can request a home testing kit through the pilot program

According to the NCDHHS website, the kits will be shipped through overnight delivery, and include test supplies and prepaid return shipping materials. Results will typically be made available online within 1 or 2 days from the time the specimen is received at the lab.

NCDHHS is also reminding people to continue practicing the 3 W's: wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and wash your hands.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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