BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1 million to the State of Rhode Island to reimburse the state health department for the costs of implementing technology needed to detect and track infections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $1,065,634 Public Assistance grant will go to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) for contracting to put in place technological tools to help protect the public between March and December 2021.
Some of the measures supported by this technology included testing, case investigation, outbreak response, quarantine and isolation, and public communications.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Rhode Island 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.
These grants brings the total awarded by FEMA to the State of Rhode Island to almost $477 million to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.