The Supreme Court has canceled all April arguments because of the coronavirus, it announced Friday in a news release.
All planned arguments for March and April have now been indefinitely postponed.
“The Court will consider rescheduling some cases from the March and April sessions before the end of the Term, if circumstances permit in light of public health and safety guidance at that time,” the court said in the release. The court’s annual term usually ends in June before the justices take a summer vacation.
The court has been closed to the public since March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, the justices hear arguments in March and April before releasing decisions in May and June. But like many traditions, that schedule is currently up in the air. The justices have been meeting by phone in recent weeks to discuss cases, The Associated Press reported.
The court has not ruled out hearing arguments by video or audio link at a later date.
Six of the nine justices on the court are older than 65, meaning they’re at greater risk of dying should they get the COVID-19 disease.
Nearly 7,000 people in the United States have now died from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins. Of those people, 15 have been in Washington, D.C.
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