Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday 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 goes into effect at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 9, 2021 and extends until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

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What is coronavirus?

Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s. Seven sub-groups are known to infect people, including several that cause the common cold. MERS-CoV (which causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), SARS-CoV (which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome), and the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infect animals and have evolved to make people sick.