An illustration of the new coronavirus COVID-19. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.

The state of Connecticut plans to distribute 3 million at-home COVID-19 rapid tests and 6 million N95 facemasks, a rollout that’s expected to begin Thursday to help blunt the rising number of infections, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.

It’s projected to take about two weeks to distribute the first allocation of 500,000 iHealth test kits, which include two tests per kit for a total of 1 million tests.

Many of the kits are expected to be sent to municipalities and their local health departments, allowing local officials to decide how best to give them out. The final details of the distribution process, including for the face masks, are still being finalized, but Lamont said he expects there will be a focus on providing many of the test kits to some of the “hardest hit populations,” including people living in congregate settings and in homeless shelters.

Meanwhile, the rest of the test kits will be sent to schools.

“Connecticut is currently experiencing another surge in COVID-19 cases that is being driven mostly by the highly transmissible omicron variant. As a result, the demand for tests has outpaced the supply of testing available through our statewide network of about 400 sites,” Lamont said in a statement. “We have to get 2022 off to a good start by helping residents identify COVID-19 quickly and take those steps to isolate appropriately to curb any further spread.”

These kits, Lamont said, will immediately expand the number of tests available during a short period, augmenting existing testing options across Connecticut, a state of more than 3.5 million residents.