ATLANTA, USA –The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced upcoming action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide additional resources to state and local jurisdictions in support of our nation’s response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Using funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, CDC is awarding $631 million to 64 jurisdictions through the existing Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) cooperative agreement. These funds, along with the previous support CDC has provided external, will help states with their efforts to re-open America.
“This new funding secured from Congress by president Donald Trump will help public health departments across America continue to battle COVID-19 and expand their capacity for testing, contact tracing, and containment,” said HHS secretary Alex Azar. “The professionals who staff America’s state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments have played a vital role in protecting Americans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, by reporting and analyzing surveillance data, tracing the spread of the virus, and developing scientific guidelines appropriate for local communities. As we look toward re-opening the economy, the work of these dedicated public health officials is only going to get more important, and the Trump administration and CDC will be working right alongside them to assist.”
“This infusion of additional funding into the nation’s public health infrastructure will strengthen our capacity to implement tried and true containment measures,” said CDC director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “The ability to implement aggressive contact tracing, surveillance and testing will be fundamental to protecting vulnerable populations as the nation takes steps to reopen and Americans begin returning to their daily lives.”
CDC will use existing networks to reach out to state and local jurisdictions to access this funding, which may be used for a variety of activities including:
- Establishing or enhancing the ability to aggressively identify cases, conduct contact tracing and follow up, as well as implement appropriate containment measures.
- Improving morbidity and mortality surveillance.
- Enhancing testing capacity.
- Controlling COVID-19 in high-risk settings and protect vulnerable or high-risk populations.
- Working with healthcare systems to manage and monitor system capacity.
