The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1 million to the State of Maine to reimburse it for the cost of providing non-congregate sheltering for vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $1,034,884 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for the cost of renting hotel rooms between March and July 2021 for quarantining several categories of people.

The state rented approximately 235 rooms at six hotels to quarantine first responders and healthcare workers; people in congregate shelters; and homeless families or individuals who had been exposed to COVID-19.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Maine with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”

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 $306 million in Public Assistance grants to Maine to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.