FEMA releases COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season
Upcoming Events
Related News

Key Takeaways
On May 20, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season, to help state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers and public health officials best prepare for disasters, while continuing to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the 2020 hurricane season fast approaching, FEMA is working to ensure that emergency managers and county officials are able to navigate the added complexities of conducting response and recovery operations while taking preventative measures to protect the health and safety of our residents. The guidance provides checklists and other resources that will enable emergency managers to best adapt their response and recovery plans and outlines anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19.
Although the guidance focuses on hurricane season preparedness, most planning considerations and principles can be applied to other disasters including flooding, wildfires and other no-notice incidents.
To expand awareness and understanding of the guidance, FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate will be conducting four webinars. These will allow emergency managers and local officials an opportunity to discuss how the guidance can assist jurisdictions in modifying their response plans given the current constraints of the ongoing pandemic. Dates and times for the webinars can be found by clicking here.
NACo will continue to monitor federal guidelines, provide information and support counties during the COVID-19 public health emergency on our online resource page.

Attachments
Related News

County Countdown – June 30, 2025
Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features the Senate reconciliation debate, transparency on sanctuary designations and more.

DHS releases list identifying sanctuary jurisdictions; includes nearly 400 counties
NACo, along with the National League of Cities, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association, requested additional clarification on the methodology used to create the list, and noted concerns around the legal challenges that localities face when complying with ICE detainers. As of this time, NACo has yet to hear of a county receiving a formal notification that they were included on the list.

U.S. House of Representatives introduces legislation to expand Medicaid coverage for behavioral health treatment facilities
On June 20, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Increasing Behavioral Health Treatment Act in the U.S. House of Representative. This bill aims to improve access to behavioral health care nationwide by removing long-standing Medicaid funding restrictions for behavioral health treatment in certain facilities, providing new flexibility for states and counties to meet growing behavioral health needs.