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WINTON – With the number of local COVID-19 cases falling along with the statewide lifting of some health restrictions related to the virus, Hertford County officials have ended a State of Emergency enacted 14 months ago.

At their regularly scheduled meeting here Monday evening (May 17), the Hertford County Board of Commissioners approved a proclamation that says a State of Emergency no longer exists in the county.

That proclamation became effective immediately upon the signature of Commission Chairman Ronald Gatling.

It was on March 19 of last year that Gatling signed the State of Emergency order in response to the growing medical threat of the novel coronavirus, which grew into a national and global pandemic.

At that time, Hertford County enacted control measures in an effort to prepare, respond, and eventually recover from the impacts caused by the deadly virus. Those measures were coordinated with federal, state and local agencies.

Since March of 2019, Hertford County has experienced 2,102 lab confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of that total, 2,025 individuals recovered from the virus. Unfortunately, the virus claimed 63 lives in the county.

As of last week, there were only 14 active cases of COVID-19 in Hertford County. There have been no local deaths from the virus over the course of the past several weeks.