Cebu City Hall of Justice in Qimonda IT Center. | CDN DIGITAL FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Hall of Justice in the Qimonda IT Center at the North Reclamation Area (NRA) will remain physically closed at least until Friday, June 5, 2020, Executive Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul announced on May 31, 2020.
Judge Hadjirasul said the Supreme Court has granted his request to further extend the closure of the facility until the said date after one of its outsourced workers tested positive for COVID-19.
The courthouse has been off-limits to all personnel since May 13 after one of its personnel were found to be a close contact of a person who tested positive for the virus.
READ: Cebu City Courts ‘ closed’ starting May 13
“It is because one of our agency-supplied personnel turned out positive of the COVID-19 virus in the test conducted on him and 29 others on May 15,” Hadjirasul said.
Hadjirasul said the 30 personnel were quarantined in the building while waiting for their test results, which were released last May 27.
Online filing
The 29 others, who tested negative, continued their 14-day mandatory quarantine period, which was supposed to end last May 29. They are, however, to extend their isolation period for seven days, or until June 5, for further observation.
READ: Cebu City courts start electronic filing of cases, bail application amid ECQ
Despite the physical closure of the courts, Hadjirasul said the Cebu City courts are still operational through the online filing of pleadings.
The Cebu City courts have also started with trials through video conferencing last May 4 as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amid the community quarantine restriction and the high number of COVID-19 cases in the jails. /bmjo