Boone County Commission approves $1.8 million in CARES Act funding for health department
COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)
The Boone County Commission approved $1.8 million in federal funds Tuesday for the Columbia/Boone County health department to hire more workers for the fight against COVID-19.
The commission is giving the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services $1.8 million of the $21 million the county received from the federal CARES Act. The money will allow the department to hire contact tracers, investigators and to offer more testing for people who do not have insurance.
Boone County Southern District Commissioner Fred Parry said hiring has already started.
"They have been doing the hiring process for the last few weeks in anticipation of approval of these funds so they are ready to hit the ground running," he said.
Parry said the recent uptick Boone County's novel coronavirus cases has put a strain on contact tracers and case investigators in the community.
"They need help so they can connect to those that have been exposed to the virus within a 24-hour period and collect as much information as they can as quickly as possible," he said.
Many county residents are without insurance and cannot pay for COVID-19 testing, Parry said.
"Tests are averaging at $150 a test and so there will be a special fund that will be set aside to cover the cost of the tests for those who do not have insurance or are low-income families," Parry said.
The process of approving this funding took a few months because of the changing or unclear requirements from the federal government.
The commission is also expecting a request from the six public school districts in Boone County for mobile hotspots.
Parry said this will allow children in rural Boone County and some in the city limits who do not have good internet connectivity to use hotspots to improve internet speed for online learning.
The districts are requesting about 1,400 devices at $240 a piece.
"This is a significant request but its really a request that we think is necessary considering the amount of online learning we are anticipating in the next coming months," Parry said.
The commission is meeting with the county counselor Tuesday to discuss the timeline. Parry said their goal is to have hot spots ready to go by Aug. 24.
Check back for more on this developing story or watch ABC 17 News at 5 and 6.
