GREENSBORO — Guilford County's local emergency declaration regarding COVID-19 will end today at 5 p.m., Guilford County commissioners' Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston announced in a news release.
The action coincides with the termination of the North Carolina’s pandemic state of emergency declared by Governor Roy Cooper more than two years ago.
The governor declared a state of emergency in March of 2020 as the first cases of the coronavirus began showing up in North Carolina.
Since then, nearly 3 million people have reported testing positive in the state and more than 25,000 people have died from the disease, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. In Guilford County, 137,858 people have reported testing positive and 1,276 people have died, according to the NCDHHS' website.
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On March 13, 2020, Guilford County declared a countywide emergency related to COVID-19. The state and local emergency declarations led to mask mandates and the closure of some businesses. They also allowed governments to apply for aid from the state and federal governments for response and recovery expenses. A similar declaration for the city of Greensboro was rescinded after the county imposed its emergency declaration.
The county's transmission level is still considered high, according to the Guilford County health department.
“We recognize that COVID-19 is still an emergent issue, with the transmission on the rise," Guilford County Emergency Management Director Steven Grose said in the release. "While the local state of emergency is being allowed to expire in conjunction with the Governor’s, ... there are resources and processes in place to meet the immediate needs.”
“We continue to offer vaccines in Guilford County for anybody who wants them,” county Health Director Dr. Iulia said in the release. “We will continue to monitor locally and recommend reactivation if appropriate.”
The health department still advises people to wear a mask indoors, stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations and get tested if symptoms of the disease appear.
Meanwhile, Novant Health is asking people not to visit the emergency room for a COVID-19 test unless the symptoms are life threatening. Tests are readily available at drug stores and testing also can be arranged at through primary care physicians or at ncdhhs.gov.
For more information about COVID-19 or to schedule a vaccination, go to healthyguilford.com.
Photos: A look back at how COVID-19 unfolded in Greensboro through March 2020
Blessing (copy)
Annie Penn Hospital RN Daphyne Martin holds her hands out during prayer at the blessing of the COVID-19 triage tent ceremony at the emergency department of the hospital in Reidsville, N.C., on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. At the ceremony local clergy offered prayers for the tent, staff, and patients in the hospital.
ACCSWOFFORD
Head coach Leonard Hamilton (left) and Florida State’s players pose with the championship trophy after the remainder of the ACC Tournament was canceled because of concerns over the coronavirus. The Seminoles won the ACC’s regular-season title and will be recognized as the league’s champions.
ACCSWOFFORD
Florida State waits in the tunnel before the third round of the Men's ACC Tournament was canceled at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Food Donations
Jason Perry (left) loads bread into the truck at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 13, 2020. Spectra, the food service concessionaire contracted by the Greensboro Coliseum, donated unused food from the basketball tournaments to local food banks.
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George Seifert, 17, watches as players line up for senior night at Page High School in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 13, 2020. Seifert is a student coach for Page's lacrosse team. He wears a mask and practices social distance because he has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and contracting COVID-19 would be detrimental to his health. "I just wanted to come out and support the seniors." said Seifert.
canterbury
Kelen Walker packs students' locker contents into black trash bags at Canterbury School in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
restaurants
Steve King with Wilburn Medical USA works on medical supply orders while he drinks a smoothie at Cafegency in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. "We're completely wiped out of face masks." said King.
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Mitchel Sommers sings Que Sera Sera to his mom, Gloria Clarke, over the phone through a window at Abbotswood at Irving Park retirement community in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday, March 19, 2020.
playground
Johnny Isley sprays the playground with a disinfectant at Peeler Recreation Center in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Greensboro Parks and Recreation will be cleaning playgrounds twice a week with a product that is approved for cleaning and disinfecting for COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.
School Meals (copy)
Buses stage to pick up meals to deliver to children in need at Grimsley High School in Greensboro on Monday.
City buses (copy)
Jerome Kittrell wipes down the stop request cord and other often-touched surfaces in a city bus parked at the Greensboro Depot in Greensboro on Monday.
School Lunches (copy) (copy)
Guilford County Schools employees load coolers filled with meals onto school buses at Swann Middle in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
corona (copy)
Drive-thru testing the coronavirus lasted just four days at Cone Health Ambulatory and Physician Services at in Greensboro. The drive-thru service was halted on Friday to help preserve the supply of protective gear needed within hospitals.
Coronavirus-Last call at Stumble Stilskins
A group shares hand sanitizer at Stumble Stilskins in Greensboro on Tuesday. Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all bars and restaurants to close for dine-in service by 5 p.m. that day and a crowd showed up to celebrate one last time at the bar for St. Patrick’s Day.
corona (copy) (copy)
People get tested for the coronavirus at Cone Health Ambulatory and Physician Services at in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
Crowds flock to produce giveaway at Daystar Church
Alexus Monsanto-Harrison, Jeff Phillips and Tyler Wadford sort vegetables and fruit Tuesday to give to people who lined up for hours at a food distribution at Daystar Church on Merritt Drive in Greensboro to receive boxes of produce donated by food supply company Foster-Caviness — 50,000 pounds in total, or four trucks worth.
Restaurants Closing (copy)
First cousins Marietta Mobley and Wilma Monroe and their husbands, John Mobley and Tom Monroe say a blessing before their meal at the Pavilion Restaurant on West Vandalia Road in Greensboro, N.C., Tuesday, March 17, 2020. The cousins meet at the restaurant every Tuesday for a meal and to visit with each other. The restaurant was set to become take-out only at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Servers at the restaurant said that the lunch crowd has been lighter since COVID-19 concerns and restrictions have increased.
Restaurants Closing (copy)
Pavilion Restaurant owner Phillip Nixon talks with regular customers Gary Johnson and Barbara Wood at the restaurant on West Vandalia Road in Greensboro, N.C., Tuesday, March 17, 2020. The restaurant switched to take-out service only after 5 p.m. March 17. Johnson has never ordered take-out food from the Pavilion before. “I guess I’m going to now,” he said.
stumbles
Justin Cohiba (left) and Junior Bacon share a hug as their shift ends at Stumble Stiltskins in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
stumbles (copy)
A patron shows off her toilet paper at Stumble Stiltskins in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
James Butler Sr. sweeps after his last client of the day at Butler’s Personal Touch Barbershop in Greensboro on Wednesday before closing up shop in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. View more photos on Journalnow.com/gallery.
Reaching out to students
Last week, Northern Middle School principal Karen Ellis rallied staff from the five Northern Guilford area county schools to form caravans to drive through the area and honk and wave at any students willing to watch from their homes or front lawns. Along with Northern Middle, staff from Northern Elementary, Northern High, Summerfield Elementary and McNair Elementary visited their students and families. And don't forget Hawkie, the Northern Guilford High mascot who came equipped appropriately enough with hand sanitizer.
Read the story here.
Find more photos here.
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Katie Thomas (left) dressed as Hawkie the mascot waves to families with Mallory Price during the Nighthawk Caravan in Greensboro on Thursday.
Mask Manufacturing
Evan Morrison cuts fabric that will become masks at Hudson’s Hill in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 27, 2020.
Restaurants turning to curbside food pickup (copy)
Pastabilities server Tracy Wolf prepares a new sign informing customers that Pastabilities can currently offer only take out and delivery services after new state restrictions took effect in Greensboro, NC on March 18, 2020. Pastabilities has offered both services since in opened in 1995. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Long lines outside Costco Warehouse
Shoppers circled the side parking lot and waited for more than an hour to get inside Costco Warehouse in Greensboro, NC on March 17, 2020. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Crowds flock to produce giveaway at Daystar Church
John McHugh of Foster-Caviness carries boxes of produce in a food distribution at Daystar Church on Merritt Drive in Greensboro, NC on March 25, 2020. Chic-Filet also donated 1,400 sandwiches. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Crowds flock to produce giveaway at Daystar Church
Deborah Preston wears a mask as she joined a crowd of people who lined up for hours to receive boxes of produce donated by Foster-Caviness, who donated 4 trucks filled with 50,000 pounds of produce in a food distribution at Daystar Church on Merritt Drive in Greensboro, NC on March 25, 2020. Chick-fil-A also donated 1,400 sandwiches. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Salons and fitness centers ordered to close (copy)
Planet Fitness closed temporarily on March 17, nearly a week before NC Governor Roy Cooper ordered salons and fitness centers to close. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Greensboro sidewalks virtually empty during lunch hour (copy)
Streets and sidewalks were virtually empty Monday in downtown Greensboro.
Grocery stores report shortages in stock
Empty shelves of toilet paper at Aldi store in Lexington, NC on March 18, 2020. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Coronavirus-Restaurants turn to curbside food pickup
Pastabilities server Tracy Wolf hands a takeout order to Gary Jobe on Wednesday after new state restrictions for restaurants took effect. Pastabilities has offered takeout services since it opened in 1995.
Shelter in Place
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan makes a statement about the stay at home order at the press conference at the old courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
Long lines outside Costco Warehouse
Shoppers circled the side parking lot and waited for more than an hour to get inside Costco Warehouse in Greensboro, NC on March 17, 2020. (H. Scott Hoffmann/ News & Record)
Patient screening tent at Cone Hospital (copy) (copy)
Federico Hernandez helps raise a temporary patient screening tent near the emergency department at Cone Hospital in Greensboro on Monday.
Shelter in Place
Wearing a mask, Greensboro City Councilwoman Yvonne Johnson listens at the press conference at the old courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
Groceries
Bea King hands money to the cashier at the Bi-Rite grocery store in Stokesdale on March 20.
Groceries
Kimarra Smith cleans shopping carts before customers use them at the Food Lion on East Market Street in Greensboro on Monday.
Groceries
Anna Funk checks out behind a plexiglass shield installed at each cashier station at the Food Lion on East Market Street in Greensboro on Monday.
Parks
Cathy Bentsen and her dog Shadow walk one of the paths at Greensboro Arboretum in Greensboro, N.C., on Monday, March 30, 2020.
Mask Manufacturing
Wanda Holton sews a hem on masks being made at Hudson’s Hill in Greensboro on March 27. Hudson’s Hill is a small shop in Revolution Mill that usually produces limited runs of denim wear and accessories like tote bags.
Wanda Holton sews a hem on masks being made at Hudson’s Hill in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 27, 2020.
Mask Manufacturing
Wanda Holton and Lynda Layton assemble masks at Hudson's Hill in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, March 27, 2020. Both women worked in the garment lab at Cone Mills.
rainbow
Fiona Snart, 8, looks out the window next to a rainbow she made with the help of her mom while in self quarantine in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
