Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas has received an initial allotment of $36.9 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
The funding comes from the first emergency coronavirus bill passed by Congress.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will distribute $19.5 million to 43 local health departments to aid in their COVID-19 response, which includes $1.75 million for Dallas County ($184,225), Tarrant County ($559,225), and the San Antonio Metro Health District ($996,725), where operations have been impacted by federal activities at airports and for repatriating people infected while traveling.
The remaining $17.6 million will be used by DSHS to support operations in areas of the state not covered by local health departments and for statewide response activities.
The governor's office said the funds, "will be used to strengthen Texas’ community intervention efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and preserve critical healthcare, workforce, and infrastructure functions, while minimizing social and economic impact. In addition, these funds will be used to scale up Texas’ surveillance, lab testing, and reporting capabilities."
“The State of Texas is at a crucial stage in our COVID-19 response, and these funds are essential to supporting health authorities throughout the state to scale-up testing and community intervention efforts,” said Abbott in a statement. “To ensure these resources are used swiftly and effectively, a majority of the funds will go directly to our local health departments which understand best the needs of their communities. I thank President Trump, the Texas delegation, and leaders in Congress for quickly passing this aid package. The State of Texas continues to work with federal and local partners to give our communities the resources and support they need as we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
