Marion State of City address delayed due to coronavirus surge

MARION — Marion’s annual State of the City address has been delayed a couple of months due to the current COVID-19 surge.

The event, initially scheduled for Jan. 20, will now take place March 10, the city announced Thursday.

“Given the latest increase in virus activity and a strong desire to hold an in-person event in 2022, organizers opted to postpone the event until March,” the city news release said.

With the delay, organizers hope to hold the event at the Cedar Rapids Marriott, 1200 Collins Rd. NE.

During the city’s annual address and luncheon, Mayor Nick AbouAssaly reviews what the city has done in the past year and looks at the year ahead.

Last year’s address was a virtual, livestreamed event due to the ongoing pandemic.

The event’s delay comes a day after The Gazette reported the omicron variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant coronavirus strain in Iowa. As of Jan. 1, the variant made up 77.4 percent of the COVID-19 sequenced tests in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

It is expected that the number of cases in Iowa will peak in late January or early February, according to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics officials.

Linn County reported an additional 2,095 cases this past week, almost double the 1,186 cases reported the week before.

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