increase font size Portland reconsiders plan to resume in-person meetings as COVID-19 reemerges The mayor says that holding in-person meetings doesn't make much sense because Portland will keep City Hall closed for most in-person business. Share The Portland City Council will decide Monday whether to postpone a plan to return to in-person council meetings amid the increasing spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. The council will discuss a proposal to declare a limited emergency, which would allow it to continue to hold meetings online and delay a planned return to in-person meetings in August. Mayor Kate Snyder said the idea of holding in-person meetings doesn’t make much sense because Portland will continue to keep City Hall closed for most in-person business. She also said an increase in COVID-19 cases in Maine and the emergence of a variant that can spread even among vaccinated people are reasons to reconsider returning to in-person meetings.