BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $61.4 million to the State of Connecticut to reimburse the state for purchasing, storing and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $61,376,306 FEMA’s Public Assistance grant to the Connecticut Department of Corrections will reimburse it for operating a system of warehouses and distribution centers around the state between March and September 2020 and purchasing large quantities of PPE.
The department contracted to lease two warehouse facilities and set up eight points of distribution in five regions across the state, and to purchase more than 96 million various PPE items including goggles, masks, face shields, respirators, gowns, gloves, and shoe coverings.
It also contracted for warehouse support in the form of staffing, warehouse equipment, material management, and tracking services to distribute PPE to other state entities, agencies, towns, and to those most vulnerable but unable to get the items themselves.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Connecticut with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided almost $396 million in Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.
Additional information about FEMA’s Public Assistance program is available at https://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit. To learn more about the COVID-19 response in Connecticut, please visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4500.
