The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $5.6 million to the State of Connecticut to reimburse it for the cost of quarantining corrections workers and other steps taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the pandemic.
A pair of Public Assistance grants totaling $5,575,235 will reimburse the Connecticut Department of Correction for the cost of paying for hotel rooms for isolation and quarantine sheltering and for purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other protective measures.
One grant of $3,176,069 will reimburse the department for the cost of renting rooms at 58 local hotels for a total of 190,013 room days between April 2020 and April 2021 for quarantine sheltering for employees who were symptomatic, tested positive for COVID-19, or were exposed to someone with COVID-19.
A second grant of $2,399,166 will reimburse the Department of Correction for purchasing PPE such as gloves, disposable protective wear, N95 respirators, and goggles, and cleaning and disinfection supplies, as well as contracting for enhanced cleaning and disinfection services.
The department also paid to provide individually packaged meals to be delivered to inmates in their cells to limit cross contamination and avoid congregation of large groups in the mess hall between March 2020 and June 2021.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist to the State of Connecticut with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”
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 over $910 million in Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.