WASHINGTON – The whole-of-America response to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic continued today.  Sailors aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy, deployed to Los Angeles, is supporting the nation’s COVID-19 response by serving as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients admitted to shore-based hospitals.

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available for the state of Idaho to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020 and continuing.

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available for the state of Alaska to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020 and continuing.

Kansas City, Mo. – Federal agencies are working together to help the State of Missouri expand medical capacity, in case of a surge in COVID-19 patients in coming days and weeks.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worked with state and local partners to establish Community-Based Testing Sites (CBTS) in CDC-prioritized locations across the country. The CBTS model was developed for states, local public health agencies, healthcare systems, and commercial partners as they work together to stop the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, focusing initially on healthcare facility workers and first responders.

This temporary suspension eases the financial burden on disaster survivors in California, Florida, North Carolina and Texas due to the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The suspension applies to rent only; rent collection is expected to resume July 1.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — FEMA has approved more than $20 million for the state of Florida to reimburse the city of Parker and Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc. for Hurricane Michael recovery work.

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – To date, FEMA has obligated over $122 million to repair and rebuild public buildings represented in 215 projects. These funds will help municipal facilities, private nonprofits, hospitals, universities and other eligible entities recover successfully so they can better provide services to the communities they serve.

WASHINGTON – The whole-of-America response to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic continued today, as FEMA airbridge flights arrived in Chicago carrying nearly 200,000 surgical gowns and more than 8 million surgical masks for distribution to the hardest hit areas around the country.  National Guardsmen provided much-needed COVID-19 support in Chicago and Stamford, Connecticut, setting up medical equipment and hospital beds in those cities. 

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available for the state of Vermont to supplement the state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2019 and continuing.

On Friday, March 13, 2020, President Donald J. Trump declared a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 41 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (Stafford Act).

On Friday, April 3, President Trump issued “Memorandum on Allocating Certain Scarce or Threatened Health and Medical Resources to Domestic Use” directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to use the Defense Production Act to keep scarce medical resources within the United States for domestic use. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) subject to this policy includes: N95 respirators, and a variety of other filtering respirators; air-purifying respirators; surgical masks; and, surgical gloves.

The Supply Chain Task Force continues to execute a strategy maximizing the availability of critical protective and lifesaving resources through FEMA for a whole-of-America response. Efforts to date have focused on reducing the medical supply chain capacity gap to both satisfy and relieve demand pressure on medical supply capacity. The task force is applying a four-prong approach of Preservation, Acceleration, Expansion and Allocation to rapidly increase supply today and expand domestic production of critical resources to increase supply long-term.

WASHINGTON – The whole-of-America response to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic continues today, with National Guardsmen and U.S. Army Soldiers providing support from Washington State to Florida.  Medical professionals moved COVID-19 patients to the Jacob K Javits Convention Center in New York, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction plans for an alternate medical facility in Michigan.

Meanwhile, international flights continued arriving in Chicago with medical supplies for distribution in the hardest hit areas around the country.  

ATLANTA – A public notice is now available that addresses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s intention to reimburse eligible applicants for costs to repair or replace facilities damaged by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding in South Carolina from Feb. 6 – 13, under disaster declaration DR-4479-SC.

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available for the state of Minnesota to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.

DENVER – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided $16,688,096.55 to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for eligible response activities related to the COVID-19 response. The funding was made available under the major disaster declaration issued March 28 by President Trump.

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PONCE, Puerto Rico – Residents who lost their jobs because of the earthquakes and live or work in any of the 33 municipalities FEMA approved for assistance have an extension of time to file for unemployment benefits. Those who were self-employed also have more time to file for unemployment benefits.

WASHINGTON – The whole-of-America response to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic continues today, with more international flights arriving in Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky, carrying much-needed medical supplies, while National Guardsmen helped move medical supplies to hot spots around the nation and distributed meals in New York. 

Meanwhile, COVID-19 drive-thru testing began in New Jersey this weekend for symptomatic health-care workers and first responders.

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA and the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience, or COR3, have obligated an additional $11.4 million in funds for 97 projects related to the recovery and reconstruction of Puerto Rico due to Hurricane María. These funds were obligated between March 27 and April 2.