U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced Thursday that Wichita Falls was awarded a $733,264 federal grant to help recover from the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The funding, which was appropriated by Congress last month, comes through the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the CARES Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

The the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security will allocate $2.2 trillion in support to individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic and economic downturn..

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“The coronavirus outbreak has hit Texans hard, and as much as we can protect each other from its effects, we must,” said Sen. Cornyn in a press release. “I’m grateful to the Trump Administration for making economic recovery in Wichita Falls a high priority during the outbreak.”

This grant may be used for a range of eligible activities that prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19, such as: public testing; providing equipment; delivering meals; training health care workers; constructing a facility for testing, diagnosis, or treatment; improving or re-purposing an existing facility for the use of housing or treating patients; and providing grants or loans to support businesses in creating jobs and manufacturing medical supplies necessary to respond to the disease.

Deanna Watson is the editor of the Times Record News. Watson, in her third decade of journalism, can be reached at deanna.watson@timesrecordnews.com.