FARMINGTON -- Mayor Ernie Penn announced Tuesday that effective immediately, city council and planning commission meetings will be open to the public through the Zoom video platform only.
The public will not be allowed to attend the meetings in person because of the increase in covid-19 cases in the state, Penn said in an email to elected officials, planners and city staff.
Council members and planners will be able to attend meetings in person or on Zoom, but those who have not been vaccinated and choose to attend a meeting in person, will be required to wear a mask at all times, Penn said.
City staff and department heads will be able to attend in person.
"I want all of us to be safe and be proactive to protect each other," Penn said in his email.
The city has allowed the public to attend meetings virtually for most of the pandemic and only recently opened up meetings for people to attend in person.
The next council meeting is 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 9, and the next commission meeting is 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 23.
According to the Arkansas Department of Health website, as of Aug. 3, Arkansas has almost 19,500 active cases, with 1,250 people in the hospital and 260 people on ventilators because of covid-19. Arkansas has had 6,215 covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic last year, the health department reports.
Another website, arkansascovid.com, shows as of Aug. 3, Washington County had 1,442 active cases, with a positivity rate of 10.64%. Washington County has had 372 total deaths because of covid-19.
As of Aug. 3, 183,552 people, or 42.5% of eligible residents in Washington County, have been vaccinated, according to arkansascovid.com.
Penn sent a second email Tuesday with information provided by the Arkansas Municipal League during a virtual meeting with city officials. According to the league, 94.5% of the new covid cases were people who were not vaccinated, and 97% of new deaths from covid were people who had not been vaccinated.
"Arkansas is considered a high-risk state for covid and a low-vaccinated state," according to the municipal league.
Penn said the city will continue to follow covid-19 protocols for conducting business in City Hall. For those who have received the covid vaccine, a mask is optional. Those who are unvaccinated are asked to wear a mask while in the building, Penn said.