WASHINGTON — With millions of free COVID-19 test kits expected to be shipped all over the country in the coming weeks, postal workers will be tasked with meeting the demand to deliver the needed supplies.
The government website allowing families to order four free test kits per household launched on Tuesday and will allow individuals to test themselves for COVID-19 from the comfort of their living room.
While the resources are greatly needed, the effort comes during a trying time for the postal service.
Many workers remain out sick or in quarantine as the omicron variant continues to bring outbreaks in certain areas.
Customers, including some in the DMV, have also reported delays with getting mail or some items not getting delivered.
The situation led to D.C. Del Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) writing to Postmaster General Louis Dejoy last week and asking for answers on the service issues and reported layoffs within the agency.
“These layoffs are imprudent, particularly in light of complaints about delayed and undelivered mail in the District of Columbia and nationwide,” Norton wrote.
Despite the concerns, postal workers continue to get set to deliver the new COVID-19 test kits.
According to plans shared with WUSA9 from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), 43 centers around the country will be used to pack and ship test kits.
In total, around 7,000 temporary workers who have stayed on after the holiday season shipping rush will be used in the effort.
"With those 43 sites, they’ll be closer to the customer and therefore should move quickly once it gets in," APWU President Mark Dimondstein said. "We’re excited about the project. We want it to work so we worked with the Postal Service to make sure there’s enough hands on deck to be able to serve the people.”
When asked if workers will be able to handle the demand for the kits, Dimondstein added that postal workers helped deliver 13 billion pieces of mail during the holiday season.
"Once it’s in our hands, then we can do our work," he said. "Postal workers will be packaging, labeling, and getting (the test kits) into the mail stream.”
The United States Postal Service (USPS) also recently defended its delivery times by sharing data showing 90% of First-Class mail was delivered on time during the first month of January.
Even if everything goes smoothly on the delivery end, the test kits will still take some time to get to homes.
The Biden administration expects the test kits to take seven to 12 days to arrive when they begin shipping at the end of January.