TO “mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in the CNMI,” the local Supreme Court yesterday ordered the temporary closure of the Guma’ Hustisia or the judicial building from Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021 through Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.
Bail, initial appearance, arraignment, family protection, emergency and time-sensitive hearings may be set through either videoconferencing or teleconferencing, the high court stated.
Judiciary staff will “telework” during the building’s temporary closure, but managers and supervisors may call on employees to report for work on an as-needed basis.
However, Kotten Tinian and Centron Hustisia on Rota will remain open.
According to the court order signed by Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro, the CNMI has experienced a surge of Covid-19 cases in the past 40 days that is “exhausting the healthcare system.”
The CNMI has reported 1,617 new cases since Oct. 28, 2021.
Since the beginning of December, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has reported 804 positive cases of Covid-19. These represent approximately 42% of all confirmed positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic, the court order stated.
