DOF Transfers $1.5 Billion to Continue COVID-19 Response Efforts

Last week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) notified legislative leaders of the Newsom Administration’s intent to transfer $1.5 billion from the state’s Disaster Response-Emergency Operations Account (DREOA) to support the state’s continued response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to DOF, the transfer will support:

• Procurement: Costs associated with procurement-related activities and invoices, including personal protective equipment and medical supplies and equipment.
• Statewide Testing: Costs associated with state laboratory testing and updates/amendments to existing statewide testing contracts for specimen collection and transportation.
• Contact Tracing and Tracking: Costs to support ongoing statewide contact tracing and tracking.
• Hospital and Medical Surge: Costs associated with continuing to maintain capacity to support up to 5,000 beds in the event of a surge in cases.
• Hotels for Healthcare Workers and Support Staff: Costs for hotels for medical staff who care for or come into contact with COVID-19 patients in the medical system and who cannot self-isolate at home.
• State Response Operations: Costs for ongoing state response activities and other support services.
• Vaccine Task Force: Anticipated costs associated with the initial Vaccine Task Force needs.
• Public Awareness and Community Outreach: Costs associated with continuing the state’s COVID-19 public awareness and community outreach campaign.

The full DOF memo is available here.