Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency

FEMA Approves More COVID-19 Prevention and Protection Measures,
Authorizing $4.5M to Repay State, Queen’s Medical Center

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 28, 2022                                                                                              Release No. 2022-037

 

HONOLULU — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved projects by The Queen’s Medical Center and the State’s transportation department, authorizing payments totaling more than $4 million to reimburse funds they spent to prevent COVID-19 infections.

As part of the COVID-19 emergency response, the federal government agreed to reimburse 100 percent of certain qualified expenditures. The Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) works with government offices and nonprofits in the state to prove their spending is eligible for reimbursement and assist with obtaining it.

More than $218 million worth of projects have been approved to date by FEMA for  reimbursement of spending on emergency protective measures by organizations in Hawaii. The two payments approved last week are the latest to be obligated by FEMA as part of the COVID-19 disaster declaration.

FEMA reported Thursday that Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu, will receive $1.2 million for personal protective equipment and disinfection supplies for the hospital’s essential workers, as well as for emergency medical care and expanded screening services for known or suspected cases of COVID-19.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation on Sept. 20 received final approval for more than $3.3 million for screening travelers at Hawaii’s airports for potential COVID-19 infections and other illnesses.

“COVID placed a lot of burdens on our communities, including an economic burden,” said Lorinda Wong-Lau, who heads the Resilience branch for HI-EMA. “We will continue working with organizations across Hawai‘i to ensure that they can access the federal COVID-19 disaster reimbursement funds to which they are entitled.”

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Contact:

Adam Weintraub
Communication Director

[email protected]
808-620-5417