New York state Chief Judge Janet DiFiore on Monday announced that court leaders are taking the indefinite postponement of in-person jury trials announced last week as “an opportunity to dramatically expand the number of virtual trials conducted across our state court system.”

The freeze on jury trials and grand juries came as New York again faces a rise in COVID-19 cases, but DiFiore said judges and court staff are working to scale up virtual trials across the state while monitoring public health conditions to know when to bring jurors back.