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Butler County Commissioners Asking For Federal Funding To Help Coronavirus Reopening Plan

BUTLER COUNTY (KDKA) -- The Butler County Commissioners are seeking federal funding to support their coronavirus reopening plan.

Commissioners unveiled the plan at a press conference outside the Butler County Government Center on Friday.

A draft proposal was sent to Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health this week, county commissioners said.

The proposal maps out the coronavirus recovery plan for the reopening of Butler County.

In the proposal, commissioners are seeking federal funding from the CARES ACT for enhanced COVID-19 testing equipment for the Butler Health System Lab to provide faster and more accurate results for Butler and surrounding counties.

The proposal also seeks stronger outbreak prevention that would keep medical staff employed and offer more transparency if a Butler Health System employee or Local EMS crew member is exposed to the virus.

PPE for schools, care facilities and businesses was also requested.

Commissioners said this plan doesn't just support the county's "green" phase of reopening. This is also an emergency response plan in the event that another wave of COVID-19 should hit.

Kimberly Geyer, Butler County Commissioner said, "The county's COVID-19 recovery plan resumes a 12-18 month window for management of COVID-19 until such a time when a vaccine is available.

The proposal also stated that Butler County has a fully equipped alternate care site at a school in Butler that's ready to house recovering COVID-19 patients.

Officials told KDKA the state appropriated millions of dollars in federal funding for Pennsylvania counties, but there's still $1.3 billion sitting in Harrisburg that commissioners want to tap into.

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