Washington County is receiving additional COVID-19 relief funds for local government entities as part of a reallocation made by the state.

Governor Kim Reynolds announced last week the reallocation of $17 million in relief money to local governments for direct expenses incurred in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Of the $17 million remaining from the Local Government Relief Fund, roughly $4.7 million was previously allocated to smaller cities, and to simplify the distribution it is being reallocated to the county the city resides in. Washington County is receiving a total of about $153,629. The funds must be used to cover necessary expenditures that were incurred from the period of March 1st to December 30th, 2020, such as acquisition and distribution of personal protective equipment and sanitizing products, test kits, ventilators, temporary emergency staffing and overtime costs, and other necessary COVID-19 medical supplies and equipment.