WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Roy Blunt announced on Thursday that the Department of Health and Human Services is awarding the State of Missouri nearly $11 million to expand coronavirus testing, contact tracing, and containment capabilities.
According to a press release from Blunt’s office, the funding was included in the Blunt-backed CARES Act.
“Making sure health care providers have all the tools they need to fight the coronavirus will significantly reduce the time it takes to safely reopen businesses and schools,” said Blunt. “These resources will help public health agencies expand their testing capability, trace the contacts of people who have been infected, and collect the data they need to limit the spread of this pandemic. I will continue pressing the Department of Health and Human Services to get additional resources to our state quickly so we can get the coronavirus pandemic under control and get back to daily life as soon as possible.”
The funding will support a wide variety of activities, including:
• Enhancing testing capacity;
• Improving morbidity and mortality surveillance;
• Enhancing the ability to aggressively identify cases, conduct contact tracing and follow up, as well as implement appropriate containment measures;
• Controlling coronavirus in high-risk settings and protect vulnerable or high-risk populations; and
• Working with health care systems to manage and monitor system capacity.
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