Kansas City to close, deep clean City Hall on Friday amid coronavirus fears
City Hall will shut its doors for six hours Friday to let crews deep clean the building in an effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, Kansas City officials said Thursday.
In an email to staff obtained by The Star, Interim City Manager Earnest Rouse cited the high level of public traffic seen at City Hall and the possible exposure of six City Council members to COVID-19.
Those six council members were instructed to self-quarantine after attending a conference in Washington, D.C., last week where two other attendees later tested positive for the virus.
The building will be closed from 6 a.m. to noon, and neither the public nor staff will have access.
“You will have zero access to the building,” Rouse told employees in the email. “If you work at City Hall, please check with your supervisor today about your alternate work location, delayed start or work-from-home options. Please take home tonight any materials or equipment you would need to work in the morning.”
According to the email, other city facilities are undertaking extra cleaning measures daily.
Later Thursday, an announcement to the public said City Hall is “still very much open for business.”
“We’re encouraging you to work with us to stay safe and help limit the potential spread of COVID-19 by using the online tools we already have in place,” the release says.
Those resources include online streaming of City Council meetings, payment portals for permit fees and citations and online 3-1-1 report centers.
The public announcement did not make mention of the council members’ possible exposure.
The announcement comes as the City Council scrambles to pass a budget as coronavirus spreads in Kansas City. The Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday voted 6-1 — with five members attending via conference call — to pass a budget. The budget was expected to come up at the full council meeting on Thursday.
To find out more about Kansas City’s response to the coronavirus, you can text “COVIDKC” to 888-777 or visit the city’s website at kcmo.gov/coronavirus. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information at cdc.gov/coronavirus, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has a hotline at 877-435-8411.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 1:26 PM.
