North Carolina’s COVID-related state of emergency finally came to an end on Monday, more than two years after it was initially declared.

Gov. Roy Cooper allowed the state of emergency to expire on August 15 — two years, five months, and five days after his initial emergency declaration on March 10, 2020. That was one week after North Carolina reported its first COVID-19 case, two days before the ACC called off the men’s basketball tournament, and two weeks before the state reported its first COVID-related death.

Over the objections of Republicans, Gov. Cooper had continued North Carolina’s state of emergency long after other states had allowed theirs to expire. But earlier this year, state health secretary Kody Kinsley told lawmakers that the state of emergency could end if they amended state law to give health officials additional flexibility to respond to the pandemic. The General Assembly made those changes in a budget bill that passed last month, and Gov. Cooper announced shortly thereafter that the state of emergency would not be extended.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina has confirmed more than 3 million COVID cases and 25,724 deaths since the pandemic began. Orange County alone has recorded 142 deaths from the virus.

Photo of Gov. Roy Cooper via the NC Department of Public Safety.

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