With Covid-19 now racing through the Vineyard community, boards of health issued a public health message Tuesday urging Islanders to take steps to protect themselves from infection.

A new distribution of rapid at-home test kits will take place on Wednesday and Thursday this week in all the Island towns.

Facing a rush of demand on the Island for at-home Covid-19 testing, Island Health Care has ordered 28,350 more rapid test kits as cases of the virus hit record numbers on Martha’s Vineyard.

As Covid-19 cases climb sharply, some 4,000 free rapid home test kits will be distributed on the Vineyard beginning Tuesday. Distribution will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon in all six towns, according to a statement from Island Health Care late Monday afternoon.

Island Health Care, the Island boards of health boards and the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital are slated to receive 4,050 home test kits courtesy of the federal government.

Vineyard boards of health reported 82 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the week ending Christmas Day, a decline from weeks prior. The count still ranks among the highest on Island in 2021.