BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced on Wednesday that they will allocate over $64 million to the Commonwealth as a reimbursement for the cost of contracting testing services for public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money will go to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services for contracting the testing services. Between February 2021 and June 2022, the state’s contractor transported over 900,000 tests from 2,400 schools to the laboratory for testing.
FEMA reported that they have provided $2.7 billion in public assistance grants such as this to Mass. for pandemic expenses.
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In separate press releases, FEMA also announced that they awarded an additional $8 million to the Commonwealth for the cost of contracting warehouse space used to store and distribute medical supplies during the pandemic.
Furthermore, FEMA allocated $4.6 million to Mass. General Brigham and over $20 million to Southcoast Hospitals Group for COVID-19 staffing costs.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “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.”
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