Colorado Expands Coronavirus At-Home Testing Program

An at-home coronavirus testing program in Colorado expanded Thursday to include all public-facing workers in the state, public health officials said.

The Binax At-Home rapid testing program was launched in our state in February for pre-K to grade 12 teachers, school administrators and early childhood educators. The program was then expanded in March to include restaurant workers.

Here are some of the employees are now eligible to order the free testing kits:

• Retail workers
• Hotel and other hospitality employees
• Events industry employees
• Delivery and truck drivers from all industries (including DoorDash, UberEats, Amazon, etc.)
• Movie theater employees
• Bank employees
• Gym employees
• Real estate agents and other staff
• Construction workers and tradespeople
• General maintenance staff (cleaners, building maintenance, plumbers, electricians, and other tradespeople)
• Grocery store workers, energy and utility workers
• Security workers for all industries.

Colorado was one of several states chosen to partner with Abbot BinaxNOW to expand the use of the company's at-home tests. Our state initially bought 2 million test kits.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment partnered with Amazon and eMed, one of the nation's largest digital health providers, to send the tests to people's homes.

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Employees can enroll in the program by filling out a Google Form that verifies their employer and their email address. Once applicants are approved, they will receive an email that explains how they can order their own free testing kit, which will be delivered to their homes via Amazon, officials said. Kits each contain six tests, which recipients can use to test themselves every five days. Those who are approved can order the kits every 20 days.

“Our top priority has always been keeping Coloradans safe. To our retail employees, factory workers and other in-person employees who call our state home, we appreciate your work throughout the pandemic,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.

“We recognize the sacrifices that public-facing employees have made each and every day, from bank tellers and educators to delivery drivers and utility workers, and we will provide the tools and resources to assure that hard-working Coloradans are well protected as we continue to open our economy.”

>> Learn more about the at-home testing program here.