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After almost 16 months of operating under a declaration of a local emergency for COVID-19, the Farmville Town Council quickly and unanimously agreed to rescind the declaration Wednesday, July 7, during the council’s monthly work session.

The emergency declaration was put into place following Governor Ralph Northam’s emergency declaration in March of 2020. The move by the Town Council became academic after the state ended its emergency declaration June 30. The state emergency declaration had been in place since March 12 of 2020. Farmville’s emergency declaration went into effect Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

The declaration gave the town authority to restrict access to public buildings and meetings. During the pandemic, the town actually increased access to public meetings by utilizing a Facebook Live feed, purchasing new a new video and audio system for the Town Council Chambers and allowing citizens to call into meetings to provide public comment.