COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

GSA Activities

We're taking several measures to enhance safety and health in GSA-controlled federal and leased locations in response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). GSA is also helping federal agencies, and state and local governments, get the materials and services they urgently need to continue mission critical work. This includes the following:

GSA created buying guides for key products and services that agencies need to respond to COVID-19
Buyers can temporarily procure non-TAA Compliant essential products [PDF - 3 MB] under Multiple Award Schedule Contracts for certain Federal Supply Classes (e.g. masks, sanitizer, soap, bleach, disinfectants).
State and local agencies have access to GSA MAS Purchasing Programs. [PDF - 436 KB]
We’ve also compiled relevant acquisition information and resources on Acquisition.gov, the Acquisition Gateway, and GSA Advantage!
Incorporated new standards in our custodial contacts in federally-owned buildings to include the disinfection of solid, high-contact surfaces in common and high-traffic areas.
Government purchase card holders from participating agencies can purchase COVID-19 products from awarded e-marketplace platform providers under the Commercial Platforms program.
Any federal user, civilian or military, can requisition supplies from GSA Global Supply and pay with an Activity Address Code (AAC) or purchase card.

Please see the below for Frequently Asked Questions. For questions beyond what is addressed here, please contact covid19.questions@gsa.gov. For media inquiries, please contact press@gsa.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

Real Estate

1) What are GSA's response procedures when COVID-19 is confirmed or suspected in a GSA building?

The immediate workspace accessed by the impacted individual(s) will be cleaned and disinfected. All cleaning and disinfecting will follow CDC’s guidance. Please note that additional cleaning and disinfection is not required if the immediate workspace accessed by the impacted individual has been vacated for more than three consecutive days or the facility has been closed for more than three consecutive days. Common areas, such as restrooms and lobbies, are routinely cleaned and disinfected daily in accordance with the CDC’s Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to COVID-19 and do not require additional cleaning and disinfecting services.
In federally owned facilities, cleaning and disinfecting is handled through an independent contract, service contract or other similar means. Incidents in facilities leased by GSA will be coordinated through the lessor. Incidents at fully delegated buildings will be handled by the customer agency that has been delegated such authority.
If a custodial contractor or lessor is unable to perform cleaning and disinfecting in accordance with CDC’s guidanc, we anticipate that service will either be subcontracted or procured through another contract vehicle.
If customers require above-standard cleaning services, described in greater detail below, please work with the GSA facility manager to submit a reimbursable work authorization (RWA) through eRETA.
In accordance with CDC guidance, if a person is sick with COVID-19 or suspects to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, the person must stay at home and notify their supervisor. Supervisors must notify their appropriate agency representative and facility manager immediately, so steps can be taken to clean and disinfect the immediate workspace accessed by the impacted individual(s) in accordance with CDC guidancev.
According to the CDC, someone who is suspected to have COVID-19 is someone displaying the symptoms of a respiratory infection [e.g., cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever or chills, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, nausea or vomiting, headache, congestion or runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea, or new loss of taste or smell] but who has not been tested via a viral test or is awaiting test results for COVID-19.

2) For which COVID-19-related cleaning services is GSA financially responsible?

3) Who can I contact if I need extra cleaning in my space?

4) How are building closure decisions made?

Acquisition

1) What is GSA’s guidance for agencies interested in purchasing emergency response products?

Emergency Response products are available through the GSA Advantage! Disaster Relief Products aisle. If a product you want to purchase is backordered on GSA Advantage, we recommend you contact the vendor directly as stock levels change daily.
Please note that all active contracts available -- including both GSA offerings and the nine delegated VA Schedules for medical equipment and supplies -- can be searched on the GSA eLibrary. Please also note that Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 18.1 and 18.2 describe available flexibilities in times of emergencies.
For customers with FEDSTRIP/MILSTRIP requisitioning capability, you can use requisition channels to purchase products by placing STRIP requisitions for relevant GSA Global Supply National Stock Numbers (NSNs) and part numbers via their internal supply requisition systems or via the FEDSTRIP ordering utility under "NSN Ordering.” NSNs can be found by searching on GSA Advantage, GSA Global Supply, or the GSA Global Supply e-catalog.
For assistance with IT-related purchases, please note that GSA is offering additional support to agencies, including market research support to identify companies to respond to COVID-19-related requirements and support determining telework IT requirements. Please review our list of resources to support agency COVID-19 requirements and our list of available support services, and contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 800-488-3111 for any non-rated orders questions. Questions about rated orders can be sent to covid19support@gsa.gov.
For agency customers interested in requesting a GWAC Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA), please review the Request a GWAC Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA) process.
For non-rated Schedule orders that are delayed beyond the standard delivery terms and conditions (30 days from receipt of order) due to COVID-19, we recommend that the ordering contracting officer contact the contractor to negotiate an accelerated delivery.
In addition to the MAS program, GSA has partnered with three commercial e-marketplace platforms to modernize the government purchase cardholder buying experience for the purchase of routine commercial items, including products in support of COVID-19. For more information on the program, including eligible participants, please visit the Commercial Platforms program page.
For additional governmentwide acquisition guidance and resources, refer to the COVID-19 page on Acquisition.gov. Additionally, agencies can access COVID-19 acquisition resources on the Acquisition Gateway and Max.gov.
The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) has set up a covid19support@gsa.gov email address for agencies looking for assisted acquisition support, and for vendors who have supplies and/or services related to the COVID-19 response.
In addition, there is a ncsccustomer.service@gsa.gov email address for all other questions including the status of orders placed through FAS.

2) Do federal customers get priority over other buyers for the same products in emergency situations, such as disinfectants?

3) How does the rated order process work?

4) How is GSA supporting the procurement needs of state and local governments?

Please see GSA Order OGP 4800.2I for information regarding eligibility to use GSA sources of supply and services.
GSA has outlined available purchasing resources and support for state and local governments [PDF - 436 KB] eligible to directly access GSA Schedules. State and local governments should always coordinate purchases in accordance with guidance issued by FEMA (or other applicable agency) and follow the regulations and requirements outlined by funding agencies prior to purchasing from any source.
Hospitals that are instrumentalities of state and local governments have access to the same programs as state and local governments.
During the extent of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, state and local government entities, including instrumentalities, may make self-determinations of eligibility and should send written confirmation to gsaeligibilitydetermination@gsa.gov. See 40 U.S.C. 502(c) and (d). For more information refer to the Eligibility Determinations website.
Please note that not all Schedule vendors participate in these programs. Additionally, vendors may offer items under these programs, but may not have supplies available on hand to provide to state and local government entities. Please contact vendors directly before placing orders on GSA Advantage! to ensure their availability.
GSA's Federal Surplus Personal Property Donation program enables state and local governments to receive surplus equipment and supplies. GSA is expediting personal property donation requests for COVID-19 response efforts where possible. For more information please contact your State Agency for Surplus Property (www.gsa.gov/sasp).

5) Are there any emergency exceptions to allow for purchases that do not comply with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA)?

Yes, SPE-2020-11 provides an exception for Schedule contracts to temporarily allow the procurement of certain TAA non-compliant products (e.g. N95 masks, disinfectants, cleaners, and hand sanitizer). However, many restrictions still apply for TAA non-compliant purchases of other supplies. Please see FAR Part 25, particularly FAR 25.4, for applicability of trade agreements and prohibitions against purchasing products from countries without an international trade agreement with the United States, including China.
Additionally, please note that even when the TAA does not apply to an acquisition, the Buy American Act may still apply (see FAR 25.1) for supply classes that are not covered by SPE-2020-11.
Only those TAA non-compliant products that fall under the Federal Supply Classes (FSC) identified in Attachment 1 of SPE-2020-11 [PDF - 3 MB] and are in direct support of the Government’s COVID-19 response may be requested. Please note that SPE-2020-11 applies only to GSA contracting activities.
Contractors submitting TAA exception modification requests to temporarily allow TAA non-compliant products should notify their CO and follow the Contract Requirements and Modification Guidance instructions. If the contractor's existing letter of supply on file does not cover the TAA exception products requested, then an updated letter of supply may be necessary.
Requests may include more than one product or Special Item Number (SIN). Contractors can submit a request to add a SIN even if they do not already hold a SIN relevant to the FSCs covered by SPE-2020-11. Contractors holding an Order-Level Materials (OLM) SIN may quote TAA non-compliant products to support the Government’s COVID-19 response in certain circumstances (see GSAR 552.238-82 for more information). Any requests to add other proposed product/service offerings, economic price adjustments, etc. in conjunction with the modification request to add TAA non-compliant products will be rejected.
Any TAA non-compliant products temporarily awarded must be uploaded via a SIP/EDI change file for inclusion in the authorized price list on GSA Advantage! Contractors should include the following notice in the product description: “ATTENTION: This TAA non-compliant product is only available for orders supporting the Government’s COVID-19 response efforts and subject to unilateral and immediate removal by GSA. There is no dollar limit on FSS orders for this TAA non-compliant product; however, FSS orders that include these items must be issued no later than the end date of the exception authority as outlined in SPE Memo SPE-2020-11. Orders shall be for as short of duration as is feasible to ensure an adequate supply is obtained.”
As indicated above, all orders must be issued on or before the end date of the exception authority as outlined in SPE Memo SPE-2020-11. However, orders issued on or before then may be completed after that date. When SPE-2020-11 is cancelled or expires or when an FSC is removed from Attachment 1 of SPE-2020-11, GSA will issue a unilateral contract modification to remove the TAA non-compliant products from the Schedule contract. When this occurs, contractors must submit a change file via SIP/EDI to remove the TAA non-compliant products from the price list on GSA Advantage!

6) What work is considered "essential critical infrastructure” activities (and, therefore, generally exempt from State or Local shelter-in-place/stay-at-home orders?

7) Are there any changes to contract payments or bond requirements?

8) How can industry support the federal government’s COVID-19 response?

2) What official travel and relocation flexibilities should federal agencies be aware of because of COVID-19?

Before authorizing travel, federal agencies should review OMB federal travel guidance[PDF].
Agencies may authorize federal employees on temporary duty to drive privately-owned vehicles rather than use a common carrier after considering cost and other factors, including employee safety, per Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 301-10.4.
Agencies may reimburse expenses that are not refundable, including nonrefundable hotel charges for Federal employees whose official travel was cancelled for reasons beyond the employee’s control, per FTR 301-11.16.
Federal employees experiencing COVID-19-related travel delays may be exempt from the Fly America Act’s (49 USC 40118) requirement that all U.S. Government-funded air travel use U.S. flag air carrier service. Exemptions can be found in FTR sections 301-10.135 through 301-10.138 and are further governed by the requirements at 301-10.139 through 301-10.143. Contract exemptions can be found in Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 47.4.
Agencies may reimburse temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE) at origin rather than send the employee to their destination if the destination has an outbreak of COVID-19 (41 CFR 302-6.9); however, the employee's total time cannot exceed the 120-day limit for TQSE, per 5 U.S.C. 5724a(c)(2). If the total time on TQSE exceeds 120 days, the employee cannot be reimbursed for additional days, per 41 CFR 302-6.104 unless the employee is relocating to or from a remote or isolated location and would suffer hardship if the limitation were not waived (5 U.S.C. 5738(a)(2)).
Although agencies, not employees, determine if official travel is required and select the mode of transportation (FTR §301-10.4), employees may choose to use another mode of transportation; however, reimbursement is limited to the constructive costs of the authorized method (FTR §301-10.6).
Although agencies must consider cost and other factors in choosing the mode of transportation (FTR §301-10.4), agencies may consider other factors not specified in the FTR to authorize a mode of transportation that is not the least expensive method because they believe it is the method most advantageous to the government.
If air travel is authorized, official travelers who are eligible to use a City Pair Program (CPP) fare must use a CPP fare if available (FTR §301-10.106), unless one of the limited exceptions in FTR §301-10.107 exists. If CPP fares are not available, fares must be limited to the lowest available full coach fare. Carrier preference is not a valid reason for using a non-contract fare (FTR §301-10.108).
Each agency determines its policies on employee special needs and required accommodation(s) under the special needs rule (FTR part 301-13). This includes determining if having an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 is a special need.
Each agency determines its policies on reimbursing official travelers for personal protective equipment such as masks, hand sanitizer, etc.
Employees on official travel cannot purchase two coach seats or upgrade to first or business class tickets to increase social distancing as doing so does not ensure that appropriate social distancing space will be maintained. However, while FTR §301-10.123 and §301-10.162 do not address upgrades for pandemic conditions, upgrades may be authorized for exceptional security circumstances or to accommodate an employee’s special needs. In addition, the FTR does allow for upgrades when required because of agency mission, consistent with the agency's internal procedures.