Need an at-home COVID test? Bucks County gives out thousands on first day of free distribution. Here's how to get yours.

After weeks of residents having difficulties finding at-home COVID tests and Bucks County hospitals saying they were "overrun" with patients looking to be tested, relief from the search came Wednesday — and more is on the way.

Bucks County held its first free at-home COVID test distribution Wednesday without any major issues.

By the time these drive-through distributions are complete next month, officials expect to give away some 300,000 test kits.

The first of three locations for county residents to pick up the highly sought-after rapid test kits opened at the Sesame Place parking lot in Middletown, and residents lined up.

Audrey Kenny, the county's emergency management director, said things were running smoothly at the site that morning. "People are being very to kind our staff that are here," she said.

County officials expect about 24,000 kits to be handed out at each location in the weeks to come. They spent some $2.7 million in federal funds to pay for the tests.

Officials said testing is critical to combat the highly contagious omicron variant that has seen numbers rise in recent weeks here and elsewhere across the country. In recent weeks, the tests were near impossible to find at pharmacies across the county and from online retailers, leaving some to wonder if their on-set of symptoms was COVID, a cold or seasonal flu.

State Department of Health data show Bucks reported 607 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total infections reported since March 2020 to 113,169 Bucks Countians.

Bucks was reporting four-digit seven-day averages as high as 1,483 cases per day for the week ending Jan. 11, a daily count that is now down to 840 cases per day for the week ending Tuesday.

The 10,381 weekly total seen a week ago is currently a pandemic record, possibly showing a tipping point for the latest surge that started over a month ago.

The county distribution is a way to get tests into the hands of residents quickly.

The Middletown location will be open until about 6 p.m. for the next two Wednesdays. They will close earlier if they run out of tests before that.

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By about noon Wednesday, roughly two hours after the site opened, about 8,000 tests those had been handed out to the thousands of cars that came through, according to county officials. The location closed about 3:40 p.m. after running out of tests.

Right before the site's 10 a.m. opening, traffic was backed up on the roads going into the lot, however, traffic moved quickly as drivers received their test kits. At one point, cars were backed up to roads near the Oxford Valley Mall, however they were not stopped long.

Middletown police were directing traffic near the site, with what appeared to be minimal issues. "Middletown Township has been tremendous," Kenny said.

By noon, most of the traffic outside the site had cleared.

Residents went through two drive-up stations and were handed four boxes of the tests before leaving. No proof of residency was required to pick up the boxes, which were limited to four per vehicle.

The second distribution site is expected to open in Warminster on Thursday. County officials will be handing out test kits at Warminster Park, 11000 Veterans Way the next three Thursdays, ending on Feb. 3.

Additionally, another site will open in Hilltown on Monday. County officials will be at the Calvary Church, 820 Souderton Road, then and the following Monday, Jan. 31.

All three sites will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., or until testing kits run out.

Staff will not administer the test, nor will they provide vaccines at any of the locations.

Kenny urged residents to be patient as they go through the distribution sites in case lines are long.

The sites may be closed or have delayed openings depending on the weather.

The pandemic has had bursts of peaks and valleys in the past. Cases ebbed and flowed throughout most of early 2021 until the early summer saw case counts drop to just single and double digit totals.

County hospitals are still seeing an increase in patients testing positive for the coronavirus, with the regular hospital bed availability in Bucks at about 18% as of Wednesday morning, according to state data.

There were 239 people hospitalized with the coronavirus, about 30 of them in intensive care units. ICU availability in Bucks is currently around 22%, and about 71% of ventilators in the county are currently unused.

There have been about 253 people hospitalized each day on average over the past two weeks. That daily average 14 days ago was about 160 patients.

Approximately 90 people have died due to the coronavirus over the last 30 days, brining the pandemic death toll to an estimated 1,628 people since March 2020.

Staff writer Chris Ullery contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County give away thousand of at-home, rapid COVID tests