If you wanted a reminder that we’re still living in the course of a world pandemic, right here’s one courtesy of CVS. On Friday, the pharmacy chain told Business Insider that the corporate’s provide of take-home COVID assessments is so in demand that it’s going to want to begin limiting the quantity that prospects should purchase without delay.

Up till now, folks might purchase as many assessments as they wished from the retailer, no questions requested. But from Friday onward, prospects are solely allowed to purchase six on-line in a single go or 4 at a time whereas procuring in-store. Gizmodo was capable of affirm that whereas looking for any of the at-home assessments on the CVS website, the utmost quantity you’re allowed so as to add to your cart is six.

CVS hasn’t but responded to Gizmodo’s request for remark, however the firm cited “high demand” for the assessments as the explanation prospects had been being minimize off. And that demand is sensible—each when you think about the businesses and schools attempting to maintain their very own COVID numbers underneath management proper now, and the way in which the pandemic is at present wreaking havoc throughout some states. This week, Alabama reported greater than 5,500 new coronavirus cases amongst school-age kids, whereas scores of unvaccinated adults throughout the state have been dying en masse from the illness.

Florida, in the meantime, is reporting roughly 22,500 new cases being added to its ranks per day, and greater than 200 deaths. Arkansas is reporting its ICU’s are packed to capability from the residents coming in with instances of the Delta variant, as is Louisiana. Naturally, folks round these areas are going to be on excessive alert—and doubtlessly shopping for extra assessments consequently.

Increased demand apart, a few of these shortages hint again to provide chain points with the businesses manufacturing these at-home assessments, just like the diagnostic outfits Abbott and Ellume. Bloomberg reported that prospects attempting to select up every of those firm’s assessments—which can be found prescription-free from CVS—are going to face limits on the variety of items they’re allowed to take residence.

An Abbott spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that it expects provides of its at-home assessments to be considerably restricted over the approaching weeks whereas it really works on hiring extra staff, and rebooting manufacturing unit strains that had been slowed down earlier this summer season. An Ellume spokesperson implied that the corporate was going through comparable points, telling Bloomberg that it was busy “scaling production” to satisfy with unprecedented demand for its assessments.