Rep. Ritchie Torres handed out at-home COVID-19 test kits in the Bronx Thursday.

Torres said getting test kits to those within this community is important. Between the rising prices of at-home test kits and the long wait at testing sites, he says some New Yorkers are having a hard time getting tested. Over 1,000 test kits were handed out in the playground attached to the Dennis Lane apartments on Thursday.

Torres said this community needs the free kits because at-home testing kits have become increasingly unavailable, especially in the hard-hit communities. A donation from a private company made these kits free.

Torres also noted that the pandemic, despite efforts to improve, continues to affect Bronx families and low-income communities the most. He is asking FEMA to provide $1 billion in funding to NYC Test & Trace and NYC Health + Hospitals for their efforts through the pandemic.