Google will offer US employees free coronavirus tests that they can administer weekly in their homes, The Hill confirmed on Friday.
A spokesman said that every Google employee in the US, including those who work for technology giant subsidiaries such as YouTube, will be able to sign up for home tests. The company pays its partner BioIQ $ 50 per test, which will then be made available to 90,000 workers.
The technology company plans to expand the program to its international employees next year. Tests are recommended, but not mandatory.
The tests involve a worker taking a self-administered nasal swab. Workers are guaranteed a test within three days of requesting one.
The program differs from other companies, such as Amazon, which have offered tests to workers who still have to personally report for work.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the testing program.
The news comes as the country faces an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, with the US registering over 228,000 new cases on Friday alone.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency approval for a second coronavirus vaccine on Friday, paving the way for the Trump administration to begin delivering millions more doses of the vaccine across the country.
Updated: 8:43 p.m.