SANTA FE – Masks and physical distancing will no longer be required after March 31 for any person inside a New Mexico courtroom or jury assembly area, the state Supreme Court announced Thursday.

The announcement coincides with the expiration of New Mexico’s public health emergency on the same day, with the Judiciary also citing changes in the pandemic.

“As we move forward and resume normal operations, courts can fully use all available space in courtrooms and jury assembly areas to conduct more trials and hearings,” said Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon.

The shift also means jurors will no longer have to answer health screening questions to enter a courthouse, though masks will still be available to those who chose to wear one.

The announcement ends nearly three yeas of COVID-1 protocols. Starting in May 2020, anyone entering a court building was required to wear protective face coverings and observe 6 feet of social distancing. Since March 2022, those protocols shifted. Court employees, judges and hearing officers wore masks in all areas of a courthouse while interacting with the public, and social distancing was reduced to 3 feet.

Friday will be the final day of such protocols. However, courts will continue to use technology to conduct business, including remote proceedings.

“Courts learned to use digital tools to operate more efficiently and improve access to justice. That remains one of the helpful lessons for courts brought on by the pandemic,” said Justice David K. Thomson, who leads the Supreme Court’s Emergency Response Team for pandemic-related matters.

“Our courts adapted, innovated and remained open to serve the public despite many hardships during the past three years of the pandemic,” Bacon said.