PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine is entering the final scheduled week of its emergency order about the coronavirus pandemic.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced the “state of civil emergency” in the early days of the pandemic. It has allowed Mills to deploy all government resources to try to reduce the spread of the virus in Maine.

Mills has said the emergency order is set to expire on June 30. She has called the end of the emergency order “another important step forward in our return to normal.”

Democrats and Republicans in the state have long debated whether the emergency order has gone on for too long. Most Democrats have characterized it as an important piece of the state’s recovery, but many Republicans have said it has given Mills too much authority.