Testing sites in Rhode Island will close state-run COVID-19 testing sites as the state changes its strategy. (WJAR)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it will grant over $124 million to Rhode Island to reimburse for COVID-19 testing during the pandemic.
The cash covers the state’s costs from March of 2020 through July of 2022.
Rhode Island bought and distributed nearly 4 million at-home tests and “contracted out” to provide over 1 million PCR tests, costing a combined total of over $77 million.
The remainder of the FEMA money will pay for testing site staff, leased space for the testing sites, security and ambulance services, equipment and technology costs associated with the pandemic.
“Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic fight is critical to their success, and to our success as a nation,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich.
FEMA said it’s reimbursed Rhode Island a total of almost $793 million for pandemic-related costs.
