CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) announced today that $71,978,877 in federal funding has been made available to IEMA for costs related to the state’s response to COVID-19 under the federal disaster declaration of March 26, 2020.
This funding will reimburse IEMA for costs associated with increased access to COVID-19 testing. The grant covers contract work, equipment rental, materials and supplies necessary to expand COVID-19 diagnostic testing across the state of Illinois.
“Testing plays a vital role in stopping the spread of this virus,” said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5. “In coordination with our state partners, FEMA remains committed to helping ensure the availability of critical support services to combat COVID-19.”
“Illinois continues to have some of the most accessible COVID-19 testing in the country. Knowing quickly if someone has COVID-19 can help contact tracers identify close contacts, slow spread, and stop a potential surge,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “While vaccination is key to getting back to some semblance of normal, decreasing trends in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths with increasing vaccinations is how we end this pandemic.”
FEMA provides funding at a 100 percent federal share of eligible reimbursable expenses for this project.
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to local government jurisdictions and eligible private non-profits for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged infrastructure as well as costs incurred for emergency actions taken to protect lives or property. To learn more, visit FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit. For more information about FEMA’s COVID-19 vaccine support efforts, visit www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/vaccine-support.
FEMA's mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.