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Alameda County Courtrooms Reopening To Public For First Time Since Start Of Pandemic

OAKLAND (BCN) – Courtrooms in Alameda County Superior Court will reopen to the public later this month after being closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Court officials announced this week that the courtrooms will reopen effective April 25 after only being available to the public via live audio streaming for the past two years.

The live-streaming option will still be available at http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/Live-Stream but the courtrooms themselves will be open for proceedings that are open to the public, court officials said.

An updated list of which courtrooms are open to the public is available at http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/COVID-19.

Face coverings are still required in Alameda County courthouses and, although there is not currently a social distancing mandate, courtroom spectators are still encouraged to maintain a safe distance from each other, according to the court.

Clerk's office hours are also being extended starting April 25, with civil, family, probate, records and appeals clerk's offices opening at 8:30 a.m. and closing at 2 p.m. Criminal clerk's offices will continue to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and traffic clerk's offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., court officials said.

© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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