WASHINGTON- President Joe Biden's administration will announce on Thursday it is directing $1.6 billion for COVID-19 testing in high-risk settings, such as prisons, according to an official familiar with the plan.

NBC News first reported the administration is accelerating investments in testing as it battles an infections surge in places with low vaccination rates.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Trevor Hunnicutt, Editing by Franklin Paul) ((lisa.lambert@thomsonreuters.com;))