Over 60 jurisdictions nationwide will get $631 million from CDC to track and trace the coronavirus as they plan how to reopen their economies safely, federal health authorities announced Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received $2.2 billion through the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 passed in mid-March and another $4.3 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed a couple weeks later.
As of Thursday, the CDC has doled out roughly $1.6 billion to states, tribes, and other jurisdictions. The latest round of funding announced Thursday will help local areas test for the virus and conduct contact tracing and other types of virus surveillance.
Reopening the economy is the latest hurdle for the Trump administration’s virus response. Many businesses have cut their ranks, and millions of Americans have filed for unemployment. Testing is a crucial aspect of reopening businesses and jump-starting the economy. Although it’s ramped up across the country, some experts lament testing still isn’t accessible and accurate enough. Antibody tests are being rolled out to try and quantify how many people have encountered the virus and who might have some level of immunity.
The latest funding will help fund that testing.
“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 Director Robert Redfield said in a Thursday statement.
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