An apparent contact or case of Covid-19 has led to the closing of the Village Hall on Broad Street and cancellation of the Newton Falls Council meeting, which was scheduled to be held in the building next Monday, November 2.

A letter from Mayor Ken Kline Friday afternoon cited “an urgent development at the Congregational Church”—the facility being converted into the village hall—as the reason for the cancellation, but provided no further details explaining what happened. Kline’s letter says the building is “to be shuttered until sometime later next week” and that the community will be advised when the building reopens “as soon as we are able.” The mayor does not specifically say that coronavirus contact was responsible and cites privacy issues within the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) for not divulging further details.

A closing comment in the letter, however, leaves little doubt that some contact with COVID-19 was responsible for the decision. “Please be careful now that Corona virus is spiking again,” Kline wrote.

“It looks like Covid-19 to me, but I can’t say any more than that because of the HIPPA privacy laws,” village Manager Dave Lynch told 21 News Friday afternoon.