BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $6 million to the State of New Hampshire to reimburse Plymouth State University for the cost of providing testing for students, faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $5,956,630 FEMA Public Assistance grant to the public university will reimburse it for the cost of providing 214,372 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 36,240 antigen testing kits between December 2020 and March 2022.
In addition to the cost of the tests, the grant will also cover the expenses associated with administering them such as signs, waste containers and wristbands, as well as the cost of repairing the floor of the gym used as a testing facility due to damage caused by high foot traffic.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Plymouth State University with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our institutions of higher education to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is critical to their success, and to 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 more than $203 million in Public Assistance grants to New Hampshire to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.