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TORONTO – A high-profile murder trial in Toronto is continuing amid newly announced precautions to reduce risks related to the novel coronavirus in the Ontario justice system.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Dambrot says the trial of Kalen Schlatter, who is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 22-year-old Tess Richey, will be completed.

READ MORE: Ontario superior court suspending juries for upcoming trials amid coronavirus outbreak

The last witness in the trial is slated to be heard today, with closing arguments expected sometime next week.

The Superior Court of Justice announced last night that jury selection had been suspended for all new civil and criminal trials, and anyone who received a summons for jury duty for an upcoming case should not come to court.

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But it said trials currently underway can continue, subject to the judge’s discretion.

Dambrot says the purpose of the new measure is to not have large crowds of potential jurors in a courthouse. He says that is not the situation jurors in the Schlatter trial are facing.