SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awards around $1.7 million to Mount Holyoke College for COVID-19 testing costs.

FEMA will be sending around $1.7 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to repay Mount Holyoke College for the costs of providing tests during the COVID-19 pandemic. $1,655,075 for the Public Assistance grant will repay the private women’s college for contracting to provide 117,925 COVID-19 tests to students, faculty, and staff between July 2020 and December 2021.

The Public Assistance program is a source of funding for states and communities recovering from federally declared disasters or emergencies. FEMA has provided more than $1.3 billion in Public Assistance grants to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Mount Holyoke College with these costs,” stated 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.”