Trump Administration Approves $1.5 Million in Compact and CARES Act Funding for COVID-19 Quarantine Facilities in Kosrae, Micronesia

Construction in progress of COVID-19 quarantine facilities in Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration is pleased to announce through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech, that $1,530,000 in Compact of Free Association (Compact) and CARES Act funding has been approved to help build several quarantine buildings in the State of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

“We are glad to see that construction has begun on new buildings to be used in Kosrae State for quarantine and isolation purposes during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” said Assistant Secretary Domenech. “This important support provided by the Compact and the CARES Act will help Kosrae isolate and address potential COVID-19 cases, thereby reducing the potential for community transmission of the disease as repatriations and the relaxing of travel restrictions are considered.”

Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia

In March of 2020, the FSM government restricted travel due to the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic and, to date, the FSM has no reported cases of the coronavirus. The U.S. government has been providing ongoing support and assistance to the FSM and the other freely associated states to help address the pandemic.

Certain economic assistance provisions under the Compact of Free Association agreement (U.S. Public Law 108-188) between the FSM and the United States are set to expire in 2023. Bilateral discussions are underway related to the expiring provisions.  

For more information about the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, visit the website at www.doi.gov/oia, follow on Twitter at @ASIIADomenech, or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InsularAffairs.

The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, the Office of Insular Affairs administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

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