States test at-home COVID-19 testing program By Khristopher J. Brooks At-home COVID tests studied in North Carolina Federal health officials have sent thousands of at-home COVID-19 tests to residents in North Carolina and Tennessee as part of a larger study focused on how the coronavirus spreads. The free testing kits, distributed by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, arrived earlier this month to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Pitt County, North Carolina. Researchers at those agencies want to see if the spread of COVID-19 will be reduced if more people are given quick access to at-home testing.