The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) on Wednesday issued new guidance on coronavirus testing outside of the healthcare system as part of the Biden administration's push to increase testing in a preventative manner as social restrictions begin to ease across the country.

Due to the nation's limited testing supplies throughout the pandemic, COVID testings in the United States have primarily been used as diagnostic tools to determine if individuals with symptoms or have been exposed to the virus have been infected. Moving forward, the federal government wants testing to be used to screen individuals in order to curb widespread asymptomatic transmission.

"Testing can be used as a surveillance tool to monitor the burden of disease in communities," said C.D.C. Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a Wednesday COVID-19 Response Team press briefing at the White House. "Our newly released set of guidances offers a comprehensive approach to testing and helps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through the rapid identification and isolation of people who are infected, including those who do not know they are infected because they do not have symptoms."

"Reliable and widely available testing is a crucial part of our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19," added Walensky.

Among the new environments for COVID-19 testing, the C.D.C. made recommendations for non-healthcare workplaces as Americans begin to return to offices after over a year of working from home. At the office, the federal health agency recommends that employers provide workers periodic test screenings, especially to workers at higher risk of exposure, as tests become more available and the vaccine rollout continues to accelerate.

The C.D.C. also issued other guidances for testing at college and university campuses, correction facilities and homeless shelters.

Separately, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it is investing $10 billion from the recently passed American Rescue Plan stimulus package to fund coronavirus test screenings for schools in effort to return students to in-person learning across the country.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (H.H.S.) on Wednesday set the goal to reopen schools for the remaining few months of the school year, with the funding expected to reach schools in April.

President Joe Biden had previously announced that safely reopening the nation's education system for in-person learning was one of his goals for its first 100 days in office. The Biden administration had previously announced $650 million in funding for testing in earlier education schools.

"COVID-19 testing is critical to saving lives and restoring economic activity," said H.H.S. Acting Secretary Norris Cochran in a statement. "As part of the Biden Administration's National Strategy, HHS will continue to expand our capacity to get testing to the individuals and the places that need it most, so we can prevent transmission of the virus and defeat the pandemic."