NORTHAMPTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide Massachusetts with over $11.6 million in funding to support response efforts to COVID-19.
According to a statement released Wednesday by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC is awarding $560 million to states, localities, territories and tribes to help deal with the novel coronavirus. Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed the $8.3 billion Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, which directs resources for grants and cooperative agreements across government for preparedness and response to COVID-19, the statement said.
The legislation also aims to develop strategies to fight the spread of the viral disease, provide program and technical support, and “ensure ongoing communication and coordination among public health agencies and partners throughout the response,” according to the statement.
The announcement of new federal funds to Massachusetts comes on the same day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.
“State and local health departments are on the front lines of responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and we are deeply grateful for their work,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in the statement. “CDC is distributing this new funding extremely rapidly, as called for by Congress. President Trump and his entire administration will continue working to ensure state and local jurisdictions have the resources they need to keep Americans safe and healthy.”
The new coronavirus was first spotted in Wuhan, China, in late December and, as of Wednesday evening, has infected more than 125,000 and killed 4,615 worldwide. On Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency; there were 95 confirmed or presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the state as of Wednesday.
In the Pioneer Valley, each of the five colleges has announced plans to close campuses to most students and shift to remote learning due to fears of the coronavirus. Events also have been canceled due to the outbreak, including the popular St. Patrick’s Parade and Road Race in Holyoke.
“Our state, local, tribal and territorial public health partners are on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. The action we are taking today will continue to support their efforts to increase public health capacity where it’s needed most,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said in the statement. “These funds will allow public health leaders to implement critical steps necessary to contain and mitigate spread of the virus in communities across the country.”
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.