Newport city hall newport city council
Newport City Hall.

The City of Newport today announced visitors to Newport City Hall and other public buildings including the Newport Maritime Center and Police Station will be required to wear masks while inside regardless of vaccination status beginning Monday, August 2nd.

The new indoor mask policy is being instituted as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, driven primarily by the spread of the Delta variant and lagging vaccination rates.

City Staff will be required to wear masks whenever in common areas and while engaging with the public.

Members of the public attending in-person meetings held at City Hall and other municipal buildings will also be required to wear masks.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...