The Department of Health and Human Services says it's going to shift $860 million in COVID funding meant for the National Institutes of Health to instead cover pandemic-related costs for children and staff at the U.S.-Mexico border. That's according to Axios.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote a letter to Congress saying there are a lot of protocols that need to be followed at minor detention facilities because of the pandemic, like mandatory quarantine for new arrivals and social distancing.
Additionally, the number of state licenses shelter beds has decreased because of that.
Becerra says the government needs to deploy "influx and emergency intake shelters to receive children from the border as quickly as possible."
