City of Riverside logoThe City of Riverside is shifting all public meetings in January to virtual meetings because of increasing COVID-19 infections and the need to ensure the continuity of crucial City services.

The change will take effect with the Jan. 4 City Council meeting and continue through Jan. 31 for all City Council meetings, Council committee meetings, and meetings of City boards and commissions.

The meetings will continue to be live streamed, and members of the public will continue to be able to speak on issues on each meeting’s agenda through the E-comment function and by calling in by telephone.

The changes reflect the reality that COVID-19 is surging, both nationally and in Riverside County, as a result of the highly contagious omicron variant.

Across the U.S., new cases per day have more than doubled during the past two weeks, with more than 265,000 per day on average.

Infections also are surging in Riverside County. For example, on Dec. 29 Riverside County reported 17 new COVID-related deaths, which is the largest number of deaths in a day during the last month.

The trend also has been reflected at City facilities, with an uptick in COVID cases and exposure watch list numbers among City staff. This month there have been more than 60 COVID-19 cases among City employees, which is the second-highest number for the year, after the 84 cases in January 2021.

For the latest information and resources regarding COVID-19 — www.RiversideCA.gov/COVID-19