BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $21 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse Tufts University for the cost of testing students, faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $20,598,197 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the private university in Medford for the cost of contracting to administer 1,457,783 tests at its four campuses in the greater Boston area between August 2020 and March 2022.
The grant will also reimburse Tufts for the cost of 31,359 pool tests and courier services for 40,840 tests.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Tufts University with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our institutions of higher education to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is critical to their success, and to our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided more than $1.5 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.