MANILA, Philippines — All courts in Metro Manila and in other areas that are now under strict lockdown will be physically closed from Aug. 3, (Monday) to Aug. 14, (Friday) because of the surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, the Supreme Court (SC) said on Sunday.
“Due to reported surge in COVID-19 cases, the Court en banc has provided the following guidelines in the operation of the courts form 3-14 August 2020,” the High Court issued in an Administrative Circular No. 42-2020.
“Unless herein provided, all courts in the National Capital Judicial Region and those areas in under enhanced community quarantine or modified enhanced community quarantine shall be physically closed to all court users,” it added.
The SC said courts will be reached via hotline numbers, e-mail addresses or Facebook accounts as posted on the High Court’s website.
It added that the raffle of cases in all courts shall proceed electronically or through videoconferencing.
As of Sunday, the Department of Health reported a total of 103,185 COVID-19 infections with 65,557 recoveries and 2,059 deaths.