Raleigh, N.C. – Following the passage of the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, Representative John Bell and Senator Jim Perry announced today that additional relief funding is available for Eastern North Carolina counties to cover immediate expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A full list of county allocations can be found here.

Ninety-seven of North Carolina’s counties will receive funding through the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, which established a $300-million Local Government Coronavirus Reserve. Half of the reserve is being directly distributed to counties.

“This is welcome news for our rural counties,” said Representative John Bell. “The coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing economic shutdown is causing significant pain for our rural communities. These funds will help keep folks safe and address the economic impact of the virus.”

“These are very trying times for our rural communities,” said Senator Perry. “I am pleased we have been able to utilize these federal dollars and get them out to those in need. We have a long road to recovery, but this is another important step to get our state back up and running.”

Counties that did not receive funds from the federal CARES Act are eligible for a base payment of $250,000 with additional money allocated based on per capita population

The money can only be used to offset coronavirus-related costs including, but not limited to, establishing temporary medical facilities, testing, disinfecting public areas, public safety measures, and purchasing and distributing protective supplies. Counties can allocate portions of the funds to municipalities for those expenses.

The funding is part of a nearly $1.6 billion COVID-19 relief package that was unanimously approved by the state legislature and signed into law by the Governor earlier this week. The overall bill provides significant new resources across the state to support hospitals, research, testing, small businesses, school nutrition and much more.

‍