Sec. 5. Federal distribution of COVID–19 tests to qualified entities
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In this section: The term COVID–19 testing has the meaning given such term in interim final rules promulgated by the Secretary within 15 days of the date of enactment of this Act. The term essential work means any work that— is performed during the period of the COVID–19 pandemic; cannot be performed while teleworking from a residence; and involves— regular in-person interactions with patients, the public, or coworkers of the individual performing the work; or regular physical handling of items that were handled by, or are to be handled by patients, the public, or coworkers of the individual performing the work; and is in the area of— first responder work, in the public sector or private sector, including services in response to emergencies that have the potential to cause death or serious bodily injury, such as police, fire, emergency medical, protective, child maltreatment, domestic violence, and correctional services (including activities carried out by employees in fire protection activities, as defined in section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 203(y) ) and activities of law enforcement officers, as defined in section 1204(6) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10284(6) )); health care work physically provided in inpatient settings (including hospitals and other inpatient post-acute care settings such as nursing homes, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and other related settings) and other work physically performed in such inpatient settings that supports or is in furtherance of such health care work physically provided in inpatient settings; health care work physically provided in outpatient settings (including at physician offices, community health centers, Tribal clinics, rural health clinics and other clinics, hospital outpatient departments, freestanding emergency departments, health centers, ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis centers, dental offices, and other related settings), and other work physically performed in such outpatient settings that supports or is in furtherance of such health care work physically provided in outpatient settings; pharmacy work, physically performed in pharmacies, drug stores, or other retail facilities specializing in medical goods and supplies; any work physically performed in a facility that performs medical testing and diagnostic services, including laboratory processing, medical testing services, imaging services, or related activities; home- and community-based health care work, including home health care, residential care, assistance with activities of daily living, and any services provided by direct care workers (as defined in section 799B of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 295p )), personal care aides, community health aides and community health aides participating in the Community Health Representative Program or the Community Health Aide Program under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), job coaches, or supported employment providers, and any other provision of care to individuals in their homes by direct service providers, personal care attendants, and home health aides; biomedical research; behavioral health work requiring physical interaction with individuals, including mental health services and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services; nursing care and residential work physically provided in a facility; family care, including child care services, in-home child care services such as nanny services, and care services provided by family members to other family members; social services work, including social work, case management, social and human services, child welfare, family services, shelter and services for people who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual assault, services for individuals who are homeless, child services, community food and housing services, and other emergency social services; public health work conducted at a State, local, territorial, or Tribal government public health agency, including epidemiological activities, surveillance, contact tracing, data analysis, statistical research, health education, and other disease detection, prevention, and response methods; work conducted at a hospital, clinic, triage center, or other permanent or temporary health facility operated by the Indian Health Service, an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or urban Indian organization; grocery work physically performed at grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, corner stores, drug stores, retail facilities specializing in medical goods and supplies, bodegas, or another location where individuals purchase non-prepared food items; restaurant work, including carry-out, drive-thru, or food delivery work, requiring physical interaction with individuals or food products; food production work involving the physical interaction with food products, including all agricultural work, farming, harvesting, fishing, forestry, ranching, processing, canning, slaughtering, packaging, baking, butchering, and other food production work, such as any service or activity described in section 3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 203(f) ) or section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, or grading prior to delivery for storage of any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state; transportation work, including— any services in public transportation, as defined in section 5302(14) of title 49, United States Code; any private transportation of people, such as transportation provided by air, rail, bus, taxicab, personal car or truck, non-motorized vehicle, or otherwise, including all services performed by individuals working in or on such vehicles, vehicle depots, or transit facilities; any services in passenger rail transportation, including commuter rail, intercity passenger rail, or Amtrak, including services performed by employees of contractors of such entities; any services in the transportation of persons, property, or mail by an aircraft of an air carrier conducting operations under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), or a foreign air carrier within, to, or from the United States, either on board an aircraft or on the ground at an airport, including services performed by employees of contractors of air carriers, or foreign air carriers, as described in section 4111(3) of the CARES Act ( 15 U.S.C. 9071(3) ); any services as an aircraft mechanic or technician who performs maintenance, repair, or overhaul work on an aircraft of an air carrier conducting operations under such part 121 or foreign air carrier within the United States; services as maritime workers who qualify as seamen under section 10101(3) of title 46, United States Code, and other maritime employees including— longshoremen, harbor workers and shipbuilders covered under section 2(3) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act ( 33 U.S.C. 902(3) ) involved in the transportation of merchandise or passengers by water; and shipbuilders and ship repairers who are working for an employer performing shipbuilding or ship repair work under contract or subcontract to the Departments of Defense, Energy or Homeland Security for military or other national security purposes; services as maritime transportation workers supporting or enabling transportation functions, including such services as— barge workers, tug operators, and port and facility security personnel; marine dispatchers; and workers who repair and maintain marine vessels (including the equipment and infrastructure that enables operations that encompass movement of cargo and passengers); and work physically performed in a warehouse or other facility in warehousing (including all services performed by individuals picking, sorting, packing, and shipping in warehouses), storage, distribution, or call center support facilities, and other essential operational support functions that are necessary to accept, store, and process goods, and that facilitate the goods' transportation and delivery; cleaning work and building maintenance work physically performed on the grounds of a facility, including all custodial or janitorial services, security services, and repair and maintenance services; work in the collection, removal, transport, storage, or disposal of residential, industrial, or commercial solid waste and recycling, including services provided by individuals who drive waste or recycling trucks, who pick up waste or recycling from residential or commercial locations, or who work at waste or recycling centers or landfills; work in the gathering, processing, disseminating, and delivery of news and information that serves the public interest to the public through mass media, including television, radio, and newspapers; any work performed by an employee of a State, locality, or Tribal government, that is determined to be essential work by the highest authority of such State, locality, or Tribal government; educational work, school nutrition work, and other work required to operate a school facility, including early childhood and after-school enrichment programs, preschool programs, elementary and secondary education, and higher education; laundry work, including work in laundromats, laundry service companies, and dry cleaners; elections work physically performed at polling places or otherwise amongst the public, including public-sector elections personnel and private-sector elections personnel; hazardous materials management, response, and cleanup work associated with any other essential work covered under this paragraph, including health care waste (including medical, pharmaceuticals, and medical material production), and testing operations (including laboratories processing test kits); disinfection work for all facilities and modes of transportation involved in other essential work covered under this paragraph; work in critical clinical research, development, and testing necessary for COVID–19 response that involves physical interaction with hazardous materials, such as samples of COVID–19; work in mortuary, funeral, cremation, burial, cemetery, and related services; work requiring physical interactions with patients in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and respiratory therapy and other therapy services; dental care work requiring physical interaction with patients; work performed by employees of the United States Postal Service; work at hotel and commercial lodging facilities that are used for COVID–19 mitigation and containment measures; and work installing or repairing a telecommunications line or equipment.
The term essential worker means an individual whose work and duties include essential work, including individuals that are employees of employers and individuals performing any services or labor for remuneration, regardless of whether such individual is classified as an independent contractor by the employer. The term qualified entity means— a congregate care setting, including any skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, prisons and jails, residential behavioral health care and psychiatric facilities, and facilities providing services for aging adults and people with disabilities; an education center, including any childcare facilities, elementary and secondary schools that have resumed (or plan to resume within 30 days of receipt of items under subsection (b)) any form of in-person instruction, and colleges and universities that have resumed (or plan to resume within 30 days of receipt of items under subsection (b)) any form of in-person instruction or on-campus housing; a community center, such as State and local government buildings, religious centers, and nonprofit service organizations; a prison, jail, or youth detention facility; a hospital, community health center, Tribal or Indian Health Service clinic or hospital, or other medical facility; a small business; a business that employs essential workers; a homeless shelter or entity supporting individuals living in housing funded with support from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including housing provided under the supportive housing for the elderly program under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 ( 12 U.S.C. 1701q ); or another entity, as determined by the Secretary, that could serve as a COVID–19 diagnostic testing site.
The term timely manner , with respect to the administration of a COVID–19 diagnostic test, means within 24 hours of the administration of such test. Within 40 days of the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— begin distributing COVID–19 diagnostic tests and associated medical supplies, including tests and medical supplies manufactured under section 3, to qualified entities via State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments for the purpose of— providing COVID–19 diagnostic testing to essential workers and individuals served by qualified entities, at no cost to the essential workers and individuals, regardless of whether such workers and individuals exhibit symptoms of COVID–19, at locations accessible to the essential workers and individuals in the course of their work; providing essential workers and individuals served by qualified entities with the results of the diagnostic tests, regardless of the results, including an interpretation of what the test means in the employee’s preferred language, in a timely manner; submitting the results of such tests to relevant Federal, State, local, territorial, and Tribal public health officials; and publishing the aggregate results of such diagnostic tests in accordance with section 8; and hire and deploy employees, or contract with outside entities to hire and deploy employees, as necessary to assist in the distribution, provision, administration of, and data collection regarding COVID–19 diagnostic tests as described in subparagraph (A).
In hiring employees, or contracting with outside entities to hire employees, to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize, or require contractors to prioritize, hiring individuals from within the communities served by the applicable qualified entity. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any individual employed by a contractor or subcontractor, and who performs work assisted in whole or in part by funding under this section, with respect to such employment, such individual shall— be paid a wage of not less than $15 per hour; and if such individual is paid at a rate that is the full-time equivalent of less than $51,000 per year, receive overtime pay of one-and-one-half times the individual's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek.
Within 30 days of the date of enactment of this Act, a representative of each State, local, territorial, and Tribal government shall submit to the Secretary a list of qualified entities in their jurisdiction and a description of employee, resource, and other infrastructure needs necessary for the distribution of COVID–19 diagnostic tests and associated drugs and devices under subsection (b). In distributing COVID–19 tests under (b), the Secretary shall provide COVID–19 diagnostic tests at frequencies and locations recommended by the State, local, territorial, or Tribal public health officials with jurisdiction over the geographic areas in which qualified entities are located, or, if a national testing strategy is developed by Federal officials, in compliance with the national testing strategy.
Beginning 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act and for the duration of the COVID–19 pandemic, the Secretary shall publish weekly, in a machine readable format, the total number of tests distributed to, and the total number of tests administered in, each State, county, territory, and Tribe under subsection (b). There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
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Sec. 5
Federal distribution of COVID–19 tests to qualified entities
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