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Forsyth County Chairwoman Laura Semanson signed an order Friday to extend the county's state of emergency to Wednesday, May 13.

The declaration, which Semanson originally signed on March 18, was set to expire on Friday, April 17 and "calls for all available resources of the county to be used as necessary to cope with the impact of COVID-19 on Forsyth County."

“The intention of the state of emergency for Forsyth County is for us to be able to be more reactive, more responsive and to be able to act nimbly and quickly and be able to shift our resources, whether they be personnel or finances, to be able to address the problems as they present,” Semanson said in a video announcing the original declaration. 

Since the original declaration, Semanson has signed other declarations to deal with the outbreak, such as closing dine-in, outdoor and patio service at restaurants, suspending penalties and fines related to occupation taxes, suspending certain county purchasing policies and allowing for online public bid openings for county projects.

Friday's declaration will expire the same day as a statewide emergency declaration signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

More information on county closures, postponements and cancellations is available at Forsythco.com/COVID-19.