(The Center Square) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed $23.3 million to residents of Oklahoma toward funeral costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data.
The new data showed out of 5,724 total applications from Oklahoma residents, FEMA granted 3,658 awards for funeral expenses totaling in $23,321,918, or an average of about $6,375 per granted application.
The Oklahoma Department of Health reported more than 1 million COVID-19 cases as Friday and 14,223 deaths.
The funeral expense funds provide a maximum of $9,000 per deceased person and a maximum of $35,500 per application if there are multiple people included in the application, according to FEMA.
FEMA said it has issued $1.6 billion to more than 247,000 people in COVID-19 funeral assistance funds.
Relief funds were issued to assist in paying for funerals for people who died directly or indirectly from COVID-19. The funeral relief funds are applicable for deaths occurring after Jan. 20, 2020.
FEMA requires a death certificate listing COVID-19 as a direct or direct cause for deaths from May 17, 2020, onward. For deaths between Jan. 20, 2020, and May 16, 2020, the death certificate must list COVID-19 as a direct or direct cause for death or they may provide a signed statement from a “local medical examiner or coroner from the jurisdiction,” according to FEMA.
The relief funds can be used to pay for funeral services, cremation, headstones and caskets, among other expenses.
The FEMA COVID-19 funeral assistance funds were approved as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News
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