Hoke County local government will receive over $1.14 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the state announced today.

The Coronavirus Relief Fund, part of the federal CARES Act, allocated more than $4 billion to North Carolina. The four largest local governments in the state with populations of more than 500,000 already received direct distributions of about $481 million from the United States Treasury.

Of the state’s remaining share of about $3.5 billion, $150 million is going directly to county governments. Each county receives a base amount of $250,000, with additional funding based on population size.

The state set aside an additional $150 million for possible future disbursement, if the U.S. Treasury approves revenue replacement as an acceptable use of these funds.

Based on federal guidance, counties must use the money for COVID-19 related expenses. That includes:

•Medical expenses including the COVID-19 related expenses of public hospitals and
clinics, establishment of temporary medical facilities, COVID-19 testing, and public
telemedicine capabilities.
• Public health expenses such as the acquisition of personal protective equipment and
other medical supplies, disinfection of public areas and other facilities such as nursing
homes, and expenses for public safety measures, including expenses for quarantining.
• Payroll expenses for public safety or healthcare employees whose services are
substantially dedicated to responding to the COVID-19 emergency.
• Expenses of actions that facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health
measures such as teleworking, distance learning, food delivery paid sick and family and
medical leave for public employees, expenses for maintaining prisons, and expenses for
protecting the homeless population.
• Expenses associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the
COVID-19 public health emergency.

The funds have to be spent by December 30, 2020, according to the U.S. Treasury.

To see the state’s letter to counties, and the breakdown of how much money each county is getting, click here.

To see more details of how the state plans to spend the federal funding, see the State House Bill 1043 here.