We can argue the ethics, morality, and appropriateness of it until we're blue in the face, but it doesn't change the fact that just about everything surrounding our response to the pandemic is ultimately a political issue. Our elected officials are reticent to do anything that could be used against them in a future election.
The point has been pushed enough so that the higher ups can say they did their due diligence, and the local sheriff butted heads with them over it. If anything happens from that point on then, hey, it's not their fault. They tried. Blame the other guys for not following through.