they could find that would tell them whether or not they had the virus. the biden administration finalized the first contracts for those at-home tests about a week ago. it wasn t for a half billion tests. they doubled the order. placed the order for a billion tests instead. they said they would put up a website where everybody could order them. you could have those sent to you at home for free. it was set to launch tomorrow. there s a change in the plans, surprise. they went early. the government website where you can order your fee set of rapid covid tests for your household, the website super now. it s covidtests.gov. you can see, get this is the wrong graphic. you can see at the site do we have the right graphic. do we have it?
covidtests.gov. they announced they have contracted for 220 million. they are working to try to purchase the other 80 million. these will be shipped through the postal service. they say that you will receive those tests between seven and 12 days after you order them. so this is one of the challenges here for a lot of folks who ned that help now that have been weight in line to get tests, going to stores and often finding they don t have them yet. the official start will be the launch will be wednesday seven-to-12 days, means it s not until the end of this month or the beginning of next month you will get those tests. this is a big deal for a lot of families looking for help. certainly the costs are sophisticate as relates to these tests. you got to peeve that site will be swamped next thursday, covidtests.gov, pleural. what is the white house doing behind the scenes to make the sure that doesn t fail a week
drive school buses. new york city s new mayor determined to keep schools in person is now open to other options. if we re able to put in place a temporarily remote option, we re welcome to do so. reporter: we do now know how you can get your hands on some of those free at-home tests promised by the biden administration. covidtests.gov, the website launches next wednesday, but they are limiting you to four tests per household and say once you place your order, it s going to take them 7 to 12 days to ship that order out. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. turning our attention to europe now where france says a record number of classes were canceled on friday due to soaring cases among students and teachers. the country has seen record high numbers of new cases this week. spain reporting nearly 1 million new cases in the past week. and the second highest number of
americans. cbs manuel bojorquez is going to lead off our tblaft charlotte, north carolina, where cases are up nearly 700% since last month. good evening, manny. reporter: good evening, norah. here in north carolina, even as cases surged, some testing sites had to shut down over the weekend due to the winter storm, and there could be more bad weather on the way this weekend. but tonight, the federal government says there s another option for the near future. today, as long lines persist at some testing sites across the country, the federal government s web site to order rapid tests, covidtests.gov, is live. people can order up to four tests per household which will ship within seven to 12 days, the latest effort to try to bring down the number of cases and hospitalizations. this comes as fears that omicron, which may cause less severe disease, may cause more deaths. modelers are predicting 50,000 to 300,000 more americans could die by mid-march. i think the omicron surge is
ifection. but dr. anthony fauci says it s too soon to say whether omicron will help lead to the end of the pandemic. it is an open question as to whether or not omicron is going to be the live virus vaccination that everyone is hoping for, because you have such a great deal of variability with new variants emerging. reporter: and some experts say protection from natural infection with omicron won t last long if you are unvaccinated. i think what s going to happen is those individuals who have been infected and recovered and have not gotten vaccinated on top of it are going to be vulnerable to yet another wave. reporter: and, again, here s where you can get those free covid tests. visit the site, covidtests.gov. each household will be able to order up to four tests and they will ship out in 7 to 12 days. now, the white house says they will also launch a call line for those who don t have computer