Harare (New Ziana)-Zimbabwean courts will be postponing trials and non-urgent matters for two months in a bid to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said the measures, which include cancelling all court weddings and banning chamber hearings, follow the ban by President Emmerson Mnangagwa of gatherings of more than 100 people to reduce the spread of the virus.

“Trials and non- urgent hearings must be postponed for a period of not less than two months except urgent matters, bail applications and initial remands,” the JSC said.

“All weddings are cancelled. Parties may approach the courts for rebooking after a period of two months.

“No hearings will be done in chambers,” the JSC said.

The JSC said in instances where hearings were held, they should be confined to parties involved in the case and their legal practitioners only.

“Members of the Judicial Service Commission at courts, legal practitioners and litigants attending court sessions are required to be sanitised at the court entrance when going in and out of the court,” it said.

The precautionary measures at the courts come as Zimbabwe recorded its first COVID-19 death out of the two confirmed cases reported at the weekend.

President Mnangagwa last week declared the COVID-19 a national disaster to enable the government to mobilise resources to fight the disease, which has claimed 14 000 deaths and infected 336 000 people throughout the world.

New Ziana