You are right, you are not exempt based on hardship. Hardship includes a variety of situations which does not include unemployment. See
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/health-care/are-you-exempt-from-health-care-coverage/L2ait3Gsk
However, you may be exempt based on the affordability of insurance. These are the guidelines:
If you were not offered health insurance through a job and the minimum amount you would’ve paid toward the premiums on the lowest-cost coverage available through your state’s Marketplace would have cost you more than 8.05% of your household income, then coverage was not affordable for you.
If this is not true, then your return would need to be amended after it is accepted. At that point, the penalty would be accessed.
