On March 9, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued OMB Memorandum
M-20-11, Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), affording Federal awarding agencies with ten (10) time-limited flexibilities (exceptions) to provide administrative, financial management, and audit relief to certain financial assistance recipients. The exceptions are only applicable to awards with a primary purpose of supporting the continued research and services necessary to carry out the emergency response related to COVID-19.
On March 13, 2020, the President declared a National Emergency, retroactive to March 1, 2020. That declaration and the subsequent emergency and major disaster declarations made under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, P.L. 93-288, as amended, made the M-20-11 exceptions available to certain FEMA Stafford Act programs.