12/21/20 - Amended Emergency Judicial Order - 39th Judicial District

Amended Emergency Judicial Order
 

And now this 21st day of December, 2020,
 

WHEREAS, this court entered an order on December 7, 2020 emergency order "rolling back" court proceedings within the 39th Judicial District through January 8, 2021 to limit in person proceedings to only those originally exempted by Chief Justice Saylor by his order of March 18, 2020;
 

AND WHEREAS since the entry of the December 7, 2020 order, "In response to the rapid rise in positive cases across the state, the Pennsylvania Department of Health
(PADOH) has contracted with AMI to perform pop-up testing in various counties, including Franklin County." Franklin County Local Government website post Dec. 15, 2020;
 

AND WHEREAS, a large coalition of health systems, local government boards, non-profits and professional associations have banded together to support efforts to stem the rising positivity rate and hospitalization of the citizens in Franklin County; See https//www.healthyfranklincounty.org/community-call-action-we-will-work-together-mitigate-spread-covid-19

 

AND WHEREAS, Fulton County continues to see infection numbers far greater than those ever recorded at any time during the pandemic;
Pa. Dept. of Health December, 19, 2020.
 

AND WHEREAS, the courts continue to be a place in which there is in adequate ventilation, and proceedings compel persons to interact in close proximity over several minutes and hours, especially attorneys and clients, which in turn prevent meaningful compliance with CDC recommended guidelines for social spacing and time limits in enclosed areas which may help with but cannot actually eliminate
the spread of the virus;
 

AND WHEREAS, the court has reviewed the various judicial emergency orders filed in the 61 judicial districts and determined a majority have suspended the manner in which various proceedings will be conducted into 2021 in response to the impact the virus has had on their respective districts;
 

AND WHEREAS, the virus continues to pose a threat to the health and safety of employees who work within court facilities, attorneys, litigants and the public at large;