Today, July 28, 2021, under the Orange County Charter, as acting Director of Emergency Management, I announced and signed Executive Order 2021-24, declaring a State of Local Emergency for Orange County. The Executive Order strongly considers the data from Orange County health care providers that have experienced an increase in emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths related to COVID-19 resulting in more inpatients and ventilator use for some providers than at any other time during the COVID-19 pandemic.I urge our residents and visitors — vaccinated and unvaccinated — to wear a mask while indoors. We want our residents, businesses and visitors to follow the updated CDC guidelines to make sure there won’t be another shutdown like we experienced last year.Read Executive Order 2021-24: ocfl.net/ExecutiveOrders