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Following a tripling of coronavirus cases in LaPorte County, the Michigan City mayor declared a local disaster emergency and issued an executive order instating a curfew.

On Tuesday Mayor Duane Parry announced Executive Order 04-2020 that was to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for Michigan City residents, according to the mayor’s office.

“To the citizens of our community, over the past week the number of people living in LaPorte County that have become infected with the COVID-19 virus has increased over 300%,” Parry said. “As your mayor, I cannot stress enough that the actions we take now through the next several weeks will help curb the spread of this virus and save lives. There is nothing that I won’t do as mayor to protect our residents at this very critical time.”

LaPorte County has a total of 25 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday. On March 31, LaPorte County had recorded eight positive cases.

During this time, Michigan City police are empowered to disperse gatherings and can order residents to vacate closed areas of the city’s parks, the executive order said.