Uganda’s Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo on Monday suspended court sessions for 42 days as the country works on scaling down the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Owiny-Dollo in a statement issued said all court hearings and appearances are suspended immediately. He added that executions of proceedings and processes are suspended for the same period.

He noted that only urgent matters would be heard during the period.

The Chief Justice said all judicial officers with pending judgements and rulings must utilize the 42 days to deliver them online.

Government on Sunday reintroduced some of the lockdown measures aimed at reducing the spread of the pandemic. Some of the measures included suspension of gatherings, and a ban on inter-district travels.

Ministry of health figures show that as of June 7, the country had reported 53,961 cumulative number of COVID-19 cases since the first case was reported in March last year.