President Donald Trump signed that measure into law in the days between Christmas and New Year's.
But local officials in rural Ohio did not breathe many sighs of relief, as they pondered what-ifs and discussed their frustration with the last-minute notice of the extension from the federal government.
"Everybody was pressed to spend that money before the end of the year," Morgan County Commission President Adam Shriver said. "Had they extended it earlier it would’ve been an opportunity to truly spend that money in ways that would be most beneficial."
Shriver explained that if county officials had been able to hit the pause button, rather than scramble to encumber all of their funds in late November, there would have been more consideration toward how CARES money could be used for COVID-19 inoculations.