Kansas City will close City Hall to public as metro prepares for COVID-19 shutdown
City Hall will close to the general public for a month as stay-at-home orders go into effect across the metro to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, Kansas City’s interim city manager announced Monday.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and officials across the metro announced this weekend they would order residents to stay home starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. The City Hall closure will run the duration of the order, which expires April 24.
City Hall also closed for most of Friday for a deep cleaning after six City Council members were notified they may have been exposed to coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The announcement means members of the public won’t be able to access the building to observe City Council meetings later this week. Kansas City was already urging residents to watch those on the city’s broadcast station or YouTube page and email comments to publictestimony@kcmo.org to limit group gatherings.
Residents can pay fees and bills, apply for permits, submit building plans and generally access city services on the city’s website, www.kcmo.gov.
According to the release, city staffers will work from home unless they have been directed by their departments to report to City Hall. Last week, council members passed a resolution to push high-ranking city staffers to move faster to let their employees work from home.
Under the metro-wide stay-at-home order, residents must remain at home unless they are leaving to seek medical supplies or care, exercise outdoors, purchase food, care for loved ones or go to work — assuming their employer is deemed an essential business.
You can find out more about implementation of the order here.
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.
