The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday announced nearly $100 million will be awarded to Massachusetts to reimburse the state and local hospitals for COVID staffing costs during the pandemic.
In the largest grant amount awarded Wednesday, FEMA will be sending more than $64 million to the state to reimburse it for contracting costs to provide COVID testing services in public schools during the pandemic, federal officials said in a statement.
The $64,144,440 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services for the cost of contracting to provide testing at schools and in public buildings in surrounding communities between February 2021 and June 2022.
The contractor also provided services including transportation for a total of 907,829 COVID-19 test specimens from approximately 2,400 public schools across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the laboratory for analysis.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs,” FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich said in a statement. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”