US to Spend up to $66M in Efforts to Counter Coronavirus: Health Officials

The federal government expects to spend up to $66 million in its initial response to the coronavirus that has sickened 37,000 worldwide, including 12 people in the U.S., according to a notice sent by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to Congress on Sunday.

The Trump administration declared a public health emergency last month over the virus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, but has since spread to other countries.

HHS expects its initial response will cost up to $66 million — more than half of the funds in the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund — a special fund created by Congress to help the agency immediately respond to outbreaks.

Federal law requires that HHS send Congress a spending plan within 15 days of using the fund. The $66 million figure does not include any other money HHS or other agencies has spent responding to the coronavirus.

In the plan, HHS estimates that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will spend $30 million evacuating more than 800 American citizens from Wuhan, and screening, isolating and quarantining those individuals in the U.S.

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