photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., Thursday, July 7, 2016

As local COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the Lawrence City Commission will return to virtual meetings beginning next week and has reinstated its mask requirement for city buildings.

The commission returned to meeting in person earlier this month, maintaining an online option for city staff and the public, but announced Friday that it would return to virtual meetings for the commission’s upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

City spokesperson Porter Arneill said the change was “for everyone’s safety” as cases continue to rise and to align with the status of the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Community Transmission Indicator.

The rise of cases has put the county’s community transmission indicator back in the yellow tier. The indicator classifies the county as in the green, yellow or red tier based on the county’s average daily case count and the active case count. As of Friday, the average daily case count, based on a 14-day moving average, was about 43 cases and there were 818 active cases. The yellow tier is defined as a daily case count of 25 to 50 cases and an active case count of 501 to 1,000 cases. Anything above that is the red tier.

Arneill said if the indicator moves back into the green tier, the city would consider returning to in-person meetings. The green tier is defined as a daily case count of fewer than 25 cases and an active case count of fewer than 500 cases.

As part of the virtual format, commissioners will attend meetings via Zoom and the public is asked to attend via Zoom if possible, according to a news release. Most city staff will participate in the meetings virtually, though some city staff will be present at City Hall for those who do not have access to attend online and need to make public comment in person.

In line with existing city policy and public health recommendations, anyone who attends a meeting in person will be required to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. The city recently removed the mask requirement for vaccinated people at city buildings, but under the yellow tier masks are recommended in indoor public places for anyone 2 and older regardless of vaccination status.