BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $42 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 $42,221,775 FEMA Public Assistance grant to the Connecticut Department of Corrections will reimburse it for purchasing large quantities of PPE and operating a system of warehouses and distribution centers around the state between April 2020 and August 2021.
Acting as the state’s logistical agency, 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 and distribute them to other state entities, agencies, municipalities and first responders.
“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 more than $591 million in Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.