Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health distributing free COVID tests in bulk for special event planners

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia's Department of Public Health has just launched a new program designed to get COVID-19 testing kits into the hands of people who need them.

Event planners can now complete an online application two weeks ahead of time to give out to guests before or after their event.

"The threat is still out there. People are getting very sick from COVID-19," said Matt Rankin, Media coordinator for the Health Department. "When you gather in large party areas, especially indoors, which a lot of wedding receptions tend to be, there's a real good chance people aren't wearing masks the whole time because they're eating and drinking, dancing..."

Events you can request these test kits for also include graduations, summer festivals and even funerals.

Over the last month, cases have spiked in Philadelphia because of the BA-2 variant, which has become the dominant strain in the United States.

Last week, the city says they averaged almost 350 new cases a day.

The process to request COVID test kits is simple.

"It's pretty straight forward - asking you about your event. Anybody can apply in Philadelphia and somebody from the department will review it.," said Rankin.

The online application also includes the number of expected guests and how event organizers plan to distribute test kits.

The Health Department recommends guests use one test before the event, and the second three to five days after.

So far, there have been 126 applications by organizations requesting COVID test kits for large events. The Health Department says they have about about 20,000 tests ready to be distributed.

To place an online request for COVID-19 test kits for your upcoming event, CLICK HERE.