Orange County will no longer be under a state of emergency as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the area.
The local state of emergency will be lifted at 3:05 pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings says while this may be good news, if there was another surge in COVID cases, he says he would put the order back in place.
“I hope that will never happen, but we don’t know precisely what this virus is capable of.”
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Demings says once the order expires, it will be up to individual employers to determine how to protect their workers and patrons.
He says county employees will still be required to wear face masks until the CDC moves the county from substantial risk of transmission to moderate.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank our residents for taking the pandemic seriously by getting fully vaccinated, wearing masks and following other safety protocols. You our community have demonstrated how much you care for your families, your friends and your neighbors.”
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The current 14-day rolling positivity rate for the county is below 5 percent for the 17th consecutive day at around 3.51 percent.
