Michigan’s most populous county is getting an extra boost in federal funding for its COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday that $36 million ($36,088,864) in federal funding has been made available to Wayne County for costs related to the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the federal disaster declaration of March 27, 2020.
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“FEMA’s Public Assistance Program is an important resource for communities affected by COVID-19,” said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5. “This expedited grant funding will help Wayne County and the state of Michigan end this pandemic and expand availability of COVID-19 vaccines to individuals who most need them.”
Wayne County has been operating free COVID-19 vaccination clinics since February. Last week it was announced Ford Field will become a FEMA-supported vaccination site with the ability to administer 6,000 shots daily.
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How much Michigan, each county will get from $1.9T COVID relief bill
Meanwhile, Michigan is set to receive a big chunk of dollars from the newly signed $1.9T COVID-19 relief package.
Last week President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package that he said will help defeat the virus, nurse the economy back to health and deliver direct aid to Americans struggling to make ends meet.
Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions providing up to $1,400 in direct payments and extending $300 weekly emergency unemployment benefits into early September. Also included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care and family leave — some of them credits that Democrats have signaled they’d like to make permanent — plus spending for renters, food programs and people’s utility bills.
The COVID-19 relief bill also includes about $65B in funding for states. According to the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Department of the Treasury would oversee and administer these payments to state and local governments, and every county will be eligible to receive a direct allocation from Treasury. Municipalities and counties will now receive funds in two tranches – with 50 percent this year and the remaining 50 percent no earlier than 12 months from the first payment.
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According to data compiled by NAOC, Michigan will receive a total of $1,936,889,416. Here is a breakdown of estimated funding by Michigan county -- view here.