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Kentucky families get $28 million in COVID-19 funeral expenses; Here's how to apply for federal help

FEMA has paid out nearly $28 million in COVID-19 funeral expenses to over 3,800 Kentucky families.

KENTUCKY, USA — As the omicron variant spreads, COVID cases are going back up. Since last week, Kentucky’s positivity rate has risen to 20.72% -- the highest at any point during the pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 12,000 Kentuckians have died due to COVID-19 complications.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has paid out nearly $28 million in COVID-19 funeral expenses to more than 3,800 Kentuckians. Nearly 6,300 Kentucky families have applied for assistance.

In total, FEMA has paid more than $1.6 billion to more than 247,000 people to assist with COVID-19-related funeral costs for deaths occurring on or after Jan. 20, 2020. 

The government provides a maximum of $9,000 per deceased individual and up to $35,000 per application for U.S. citizens who can provide proof their family member died of Coronavirus and had qualified expenses not covered by another source. 

Additional information about COVID-19 funeral assistance, including frequently asked questions, is available on FEMA.gov.

To apply for assistance, people can call 844-684-6333 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

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