Seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, Costa Mesa City Hall moves to appointment-only visits

Seeing an surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant, Costa Mesa will require visitors to secure appointments to enter City Hall beginning Thursday.

“Costa Mesa City Hall will operate solely on an appointment only customer service system on Jan. 6,” according to the city announcement. “Additionally, all public meetings will take place virtually on Zoom for 30 days.”

Core public services, such as police and fire, will continue to serve the community. Residents are encouraged to visit the city’s website and its social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor for the latest information.

Roughly half of the city’s staff is vaccinated and in-house meetings will continue via Zoom and teleconference only for city employees, according to Tony Dodero, city spokesperson.

“We don’t have final numbers on December case rates but we are experiencing similar rise in cases as other cities and we are currently assessing next steps,” Dodero said in an email.

Costa Mesa is the latest area city to modify how its civic center operates because of a surge in cases.

Earlier this week, Newport Beach closed City Hall and Huntington Beach announced a similar closure, shifting from in-person meetings to virtual formats. City halls remain open at Laguna Beach and Fountain Valley, but Laguna shifted to virtual meetings.

To schedule an appointment at Costa Mesa City Hall, visit: www.costamesaca.gov/residents/city-hall-appointments.

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