The 36th District Court in Detroit is limiting in-person services to curb the spread of COVID-19 amid the surge in coronavirus cases, court officials announced.
Starting Tuesday, the court will restrict entry into its building except for those with a scheduled hearing or who are seeking to pay a bond.
“Due to the rapid and dramatic increase in the city of Detroit’s COVID-19 positivity rate, it has become necessary to limit in-person transactions to every extent possible,” officials said in a news release.
The Michigan health department on Monday reported 44,524 new cases and 56 deaths over a three-day span. That’s an average of about 14,841 cases a day. As of Monday, the statewide fatality rate was 1.7%. Michigan had a positivity rate of 31.58% Saturday, reporting that 18,071 of 57,228 diagnostic test results returned were positive.
Coronavirus cases in Michigan are surging as the highly contagious omicron variant drives up case rates and pushes up hospitalizations.
“As one of the busiest courts in the nation, the 36th District Court is in a unique position when it comes to the number of users who enter our building,” officials said. “Therefore, it is essential that these steps are taken to protect the people who work and conduct business at the court, and to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.”
Services — including filings, payments and other transactions — can be done remotely. Go to www.36thdistrictcourt.org or call 313-965-2200 for more information. Those who need to make a payment can do so via mail, online, at a DivDat kiosk outside the courthouse, which is at 421 Madison St., or at locations across metro Detroit. Go to www.divdat.com for locations and more information, or download the DivDat Mobile Pay app.