Stoneham Approves Money For At-Home COVID Tests

NOTE: The Stoneham Board of Health issued a narrowly focused mask mandate Wednesday evening. Read that full story here.

STONEHAM, MA — The Select Board on Tuesday night approved the Board of Health's request to allocate $200,000 of federal funds to help the battle against COVID-19.

The money is coming from the town's American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, stockpile. ARPA funds are from a massive federal stimulus package passed last year to help communities address negative impacts arising from the pandemic. The town got about $7 million of ARPA cash.

The Board of Health will use the $200,000 for COVID-related needs that come up over time, rather than having to request money from the Select Board each time a cost arises.

The spending will start with a sizable purchase of rapid at-home COVID tests. Health Agent Erin Hull told the Select Board the town hopes to have the tests no more than a couple weeks after buying them, at which point she'll start by first making sure to get the most vulnerable residents.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Stoneham Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.