Emergency Request Memo - Reinstatement 03AUG2021

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724

August 3, 2021
Dominic Mancini
Acting Deputy Director
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, D.C.
Subject: Request for Emergency Clearance
Dear Mr. Mancini:
Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR
1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the following collection
of information, Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of
COVID-19, be processed in accordance with section 1320.13 Emergency Processing.
There is currently a pandemic of a respiratory disease (“COVID-19”) caused by a novel
coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) that has now spread globally, including cases reported in all
fifty states within the United States and U.S. territories. New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have
emerged globally, several of which have been identified as variants of concern, including the
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants. These variants of concern have evidence of an
increase in transmissibility and more severe disease, which may lead to higher incidence,
hospitalization, and death rates. Currently, the Delta variant is the predominant SARS-CoV2 strain circulating in the United States, estimated to account for over 82% of cases as of July
17, 2021. The Delta variant has demonstrated increased levels of transmissibility compared
to other variants. Furthermore, early evidence suggests that people who are vaccinated and
become infected with the Delta variant can transmit the virus to others. CDC is also aware
of a rising number of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in vaccinated individuals. Even
without variants of concern, more vaccine breakthrough cases are to be expected due to the
rising number of vaccinated individuals.
Evictions threaten to increase the domestic spread of COVID-19 as they force people to
move, often into new shared housing settings with friends or family, or congregate settings
such as homeless shelters. The ability of these settings to adhere to best practices, such as
social distancing and other infection control measures, decreases as populations increase.
To respond to this public health threat, the federal, state, and local governments have taken
unprecedented or exceedingly rare actions, including border closures, restrictions on travel,
stay-at-home orders, mask requirements, and eviction moratoria. Although these efforts have

helped slow spread, the rates of new COVID-19 cases are high and further action is needed.
Eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective
public health measure to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Eviction moratoria
prevent increases in crowding and facilitate self-isolation by people who become ill or who
are at risk for severe illness from COVID-19 due to an underlying medical condition. They
also allow state and local authorities to more easily implement stay-at-home and social
distancing directives to mitigate the community spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, housing
stability helps protect public health because homelessness increases the likelihood of
individuals moving into congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, which then puts
individuals at higher risk to COVID-19.
As such, I have determined that this information must be collected prior to the expiration of
time periods established under Part 1320, and that this information is essential to CDC’s
ability to effectively address this public health emergency. CDC cannot reasonably comply
with the normal clearance procedures due to the public harm that could result if routine
processing of this request is required. CDC requests emergency clearance to allow tenants,
lessees, or residents of residential properties to provide a copy of the declaration to the
landlord, owner of the residential property, or other person who has a right to have the
individual evicted or removed.
The information will not be collected by CDC nor will the data be used at the federal, state,
or local levels. The declaration will be for notification purposes only and will be given to the
landlord, owner of the residential property, or other person who has a right to have the
individual evicted or removed. The information collected will be limited to the signature of
the tenant, lessee, or resident. Absent this emergency approval CDC will not be able to
facilitate, in a timely manner, the temporary halt in residential eviction.
Please provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect information
under an emergency clearance by close of business Tuesday, August 3, 2021.

Respectfully,
Christopher R.
Braden -S

Digitally signed by Christopher
R. Braden -S
Date: 2021.08.03 14:20:58 -04'00'

Chris Braden, MD
Deputy Director
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic
Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention