DENVER, CO (ABC4) – FEMA has approved over $292 million of COVID-19 assistance for Utah residents as of Oct. 1.
The funds have been distributed to Utah tribes, counties, cities, individuals and other state and local partners according to a news release.
The funding has been distributed as follows:
- $113 million for vaccines, testing sites, medical staffing and supplies, long-term care facilities, meals for vulnerable community members , and other identified COVID-19 related management, communication, transportation and administrative costs.
- $66 million will be used to reimburse other agencies that provided staffing or resources to augment state efforts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Veterans Administration all supported COVID-19 operations in Utah.
- $80 million in lost wages assistance to Utah residents struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- $3.8 million for crisis counseling to help people that are recovering from the psychological effects of the pandemic through outreach and educational services.
- $5.1 million was approved for FEMA funeral assistance to deliver funding to families for pandemic related funeral expenses that had to have happened after Jan. 20, 2020.
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program also allocated $25 million for mitigation planning and projects that will help reduce the risks of natural disasters.
The federal funding was made possible due to the major disaster declaration, which was issued for Utah on Apr. 4, 2020. Earlier in the year, FEMA increased reimbursement from 75 percent to 100 percent funding for projects related to the pandemic response, retroactive to January 20, 2020, under President Biden’s orders.