Governor Kay Ivey issued her twenty-sixth supplemental emergency proclamation transitioning the state from an amended Safer at Home Order to a new Safer Apart Order, the third phase of COVID-19 pandemic health orders. Masks will no longer be mandated statewide, but individuals are strongly encouraged to wear a mask or other facial covering when in public and in close contact with other people. This order will end Monday, May 31, 2021, and the state of emergency will end Tuesday, July 6, 2021

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Q: Can people who recover from COVID-19 be infected again?

The immune response to COVID\-19 \- caused by the coronavirus SARS\-CoV\-2 \- is not yet fully understood. Patients with MERS\-CoV (a different coronavirus) infection are [unlikely](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html) to be re\-infected shortly after they recover, but it is not yet known whether similar immune protection will be observed for patients with COVID\-19. Researchers do believe there have been a few cases of reinfection with SARS\-CoV\-2. How frequently this may occur is still being determined; for a nice analysis of this issue, [check out this article](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02506-y). Drafted 14 September 2020

Can people who recover from COVID-19 be infected again?

The immune response to COVID-19 - caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - is not yet fully understood.

Patients with MERS-CoV (a different coronavirus) infection are unlikely to be re-infected shortly after they recover, but it is not yet known whether similar immune protection will be observed for patients with COVID-19.

Researchers do believe there have been a few cases of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2. How frequently this may occur is still being determined; for a nice analysis of this issue, check out this article.

Drafted 14 September 2020