In response to the current situation in the Commonwealth with respect to COVID-19, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an order on Friday pausing all jury trials in Massachusetts state courthouses until January 31, 2022.
All courts otherwise will remain open for in-person business, with a continued emphasis on conducting matters remotely whenever possible.
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Friday’s order partially amends the existing order regarding court operations during the pandemic, which was issued by the SJC on July 1, 2021 and became effective July 12, 2021.
The court issued the order as Massachusetts' seven-day average of positive tests rose above 18% Friday to the highest level it's been since April 29, 2020.
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Earlier in the week, Massachusetts adopted updated CDC guidelines on shorter COVID quarantines. State public health officials said that fully vaccinated and asymptomatic health care workers can go back to work five days after testing positive, and acute care hospital workers don't need to test negative before returning back to work.
