Gov. Kay Ivey said Thursday she had no plans to issue a stay at home or shelter-in-place order any time soon.

The governor made a similar statement on a call for reporters on Monday and said she was working in consultation with public health experts “to determine the best course for Alabama.

“Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York State, we are not California,” she said. “Right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.”

Coronavirus in Alabama:Here's what we know

21 states — including Louisiana, New York and California — have issued orders for residents to limit outside activity to exercise, trips to the grocery store and trips to the doctor. The orders aim to break the cycle of transmission of the disease. Ivey has banned nonwork meetings of 25 people or more, closed schools, and closed the state beaches while forbidding in-person dining at restaurants in the state.

Some local governments have issued their own orders or variations on them. Birmingham approved a stay-at-home order earlier this week. Tuscaloosa has imposed a curfew that will start Friday.

Ivey said the state needed businesses operating to provide food and materials for teachers and medical professionals. But she spoke less on Thursday than she did on Monday about efforts to return people to work and emphasized the need for individuals to keep their distance from one another and regularly wash their hands.

“This is for real,” she said. “This is a deadly situation … stay(ing) at home if possible is the only way we can mitigate this virus.”

Alabama Political Reporter reported on Wednesday that Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth told the governor’s COVID-19 task force this week that the state has “not done enough to prepare” for an expected surge of and urged to development of a comprehensive emergency plan. He cited statistics from the University of Alabama Birmingham that suggests COVID-19 cases could climb over 245,000 by May 1.

Ivey did not answer a submitted question about Ainsworth’s memo. Health care professionals around the state have expressed concerns about a lack of protective equipment and ventilators to mitigate the effects of a surge of patients. State Health Officer Scott Harris said Thursday the state was trying to plan for a surge of patients, though “we don’t know what the epidemic will look like in Alabama.”

He also said the state was trying to acquire all the necessary material to address it.

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“Most of those resources are being prioritized for national hotspots,” he said. “But we know we need to be prepared if there is a surge in Alabama.”

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Alabama have climbed by double-digit percentages. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 517 cases as of early Thursday evening, an increase of 34% over Wednesday.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.