Pandemic-Related State Of Emergency Ends In Alabama

MONTGOMERY, AL — More than a year after declaring a state of emergency in Alabama due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Kay Ivey has allowed the state of emergency order to expire, effective Tuesday.

"One year ago, we faced an overcast of uncertainty," Ivey said in a statement Tuesday. "Through a team effort, we are far better off now than last summer, but improvements can still be made as we work to rid our state and country of this virus. My office continues to work with the Alabama Department of Public Health and a host of partners to keep tracking the impacts COVID-19 is having on our communities. We strongly encourage anyone that is over the age of 12 years old to get vaccinated if you have not already done so. I believe in the effectiveness of this vaccine, and the process was easy."

This was one of the longest state of emergency orders in Alabama history, lasting from March 13, 2020 to July 5, 2021.

Ivey said with hospitals seeing fewer COVID-19 patients and new cases of the virus dwindling significantly, the state looks to be on the path to recovery.

Alabama saw more than 550,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since March of 2020, and 11,358 deaths from the virus. As of Tuesday, 1.6 million Alabamians had been fully vaccinated.