To prevent its employees from becoming ill with COVID-19 and being unable to continue providing essential services, the city of Lewiston decided Wednesday afternoon to close public access to all its facilities until further notice.

City services will still be available by calling in, online and mail, according to an announcement on Facebook. City staff will report into their work locations as usual, and city officials are evaluating public hearings and meetings with any significant attendance and exploring alternative approaches to conducting city business.

Monday’s city council meeting will proceed as scheduled, but the amount of people allowed in the meeting space will be limited. All Parks and Recreation programs, with the exception of the Senior Nutrition Program (drive-through and pick-up only), Co-Ed Volleyball League and Mush Softball League, are postponed or canceled at this time. All library programs are postponed or canceled

The city will reevaluate these closures and restrictions on an ongoing basis. Lewiston Transit services will continue until further notice.

The closed facilities include City Hall, 1134 F St.; Community Center, 1424 Main St.; Lewiston City Library, 411 D St.; Community Development, 215 D St.; Public Works, 215 D St. suite B; Lewiston Fire Department administration, 1245 Idaho St.

The police and fire station entrances will be locked, but staff can be contacted by the intercoms located at the main doors. Contact information for the following city departments and services may be accessed online:

Utility billing: www.cityoflewiston.org/ub

Ambulance billing: www.cityoflewiston.org/ab

Parks and Recreation: www.cityoflewiston.org/parksandrec

Community Development (permits, business licensing,

planning and zoning): www.cityoflewiston.org/communitydevelopment

Public Works (water and wastewater services, solid waste and recycling): www.cityoflewiston.org/publicworks

Public records requests: lewistonid.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(njggi4txggtedke4q3lgvmgo))/SupportHome.aspx

Transit system: ridethevalley.org/

Fire: www.cityoflewiston.org/lfd

Police: www.cityoflewiston.org/lpd

Library: www.lewistonlibrary.org