BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $2.2 million to the State of Rhode Island to reimburse Brown University for the costs of providing tests to students, faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $2,208,365 FEMA Public Assistance grant will reimburse the private research university in Providence for the cost of purchasing and distributing 145,260 COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits between December 2021 and June 2022.
Brown also contracted for diagnostic testing services, data recording, and COVID-19 website operation.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Brown 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.
This grant brings the total awarded by FEMA to the State of Rhode Island to almost $566 million to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.