Trump approves disaster declaration for North Carolina amid coronavirus outbreak
A major disaster exists in North Carolina because of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump declared Wednesday night, a day after Gov. Roy Cooper requested the disaster designation.
The action opens federal funding to state, tribal, eligible local governments and eligible nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures and to be reimbursed for the cost of responding to the outbreak, according to the White House, FEMA and Cooper. The governor said it applies to all 100 counties.
North Carolina has close to 700 confirmed cases of coronavirus and reported its first deaths from the virus on Wednesday. The number of confirmed cases reported by the state and county governments is lower than the actual total, the state’s epidemiologist said.
Cooper declared a state of emergency for North Carolina on March 10, and Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. Cooper has not called for a statewide “stay in place” order, but several counties in the state have or have indicated they will.
“This is good news for cities, towns and counties that are incurring expenses as their public health providers, first responders and emergency managers work to protect communities from COVID-19,” Cooper said in a statement Thursday. “We know this response will be costly and this federal assistance will help cover them.”
In his request, Cooper asked for individual assistance to those affected, including crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance and Small Business Administration assistance, according to his office. The state is still waiting for additional assistance in several of those areas, including crisis counseling and disaster unemployment assistance, he said.
The FEMA release for North Carolina does not mention crisis counseling. In other states, crisis counseling is specifically mentioned when their declarations are approved. Trump approved disaster declarations for Florida, Louisiana, Iowa and Texas in the last two days. California, Washington and New York have also had their declarations approved.
“We will continue working with FEMA as they review our request for more benefits for people impacted by this pandemic,” Cooper said in his statement.
Most of the state’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Trump asking him to approve the request. Rep. Alma Adams sent a second letter signed by more than 15 members of the General Assembly and other elected officials from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. Mecklenburg has 170 cases, as of March 25, the highest in the state.
“Over 80,000 North Carolinians applied for unemployment insurance last week, far exceeding the typical weekly average. Many workers in local industries, from motorsports to mom and pop shops, do not currently qualify for many forms of federal aid, but would under a major disaster declaration,” Rep. Adams said in a statement.
Gracia B. Szczech, a FEMA administrator, was named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the state.
