COVID-19: 15 MPs, 56 Parliamentary staff test positive for deadly virus
- 15 Members of Parliament and 56 parliamentary service staff have tested positive for COVID-19
- The speaker of parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin said all the 15 MPs have been contacted and advised to self-isolate
- Bagbin also added that the household of the infected MPs and 56 Parliamentary staff will be tested
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Latest news from parliament as at February 4, 2021, indicates that 15 Members of Parliament and 56 parliamentary service staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
These numbers come after the speaker of parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin directed that all MPs undertake a mandatory test.
He said all the 15 MPs that have contracted the virus have been contacted and advised to self-isolate and undergo treatment.
Source: Facebook
Bagbin also added that the household of the infected MPs and 56 Parliamentary staff will be tested.
Bagbin noted that 227 MPs had submitted themselves for testing whilst some other MPs conducted their own tests at private medical facilities.
After the tests were conducted, it happened that some MPs who were aware of their status still went about their duties normally.
In a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the speaker of parliament has announced that from next week, the house will only sit twice a week.
In a telecast monitored by YEN.com.gh on TV3, he said the sitting days will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with only members needed for the business of the House present.
“Only members of Parliament and members of staff who are needed for the business of the House on those days will be allowed in the presence of Parliament from next week,” Mr. Bagbin said.
Meanwhile, parliament has altered its normal proceedings by conducting its business in a tent situated at the forecourt of the house to allow for the observance of social distancing protocols in line with preventing COVID-19.
Still in parliament, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, sitting in for the Speaker, cautioned the affected MPs to stay away from parliament.
According to him, they have no business on the floor of the house after getting infected.
He subsequently threatened to publish the names of the MPs involved if they do not stay away from the chamber.
The coronavirus pandemic was first identified in Wuhan province in China in December 2019.
Despite all efforts to stop the virus from getting into the country, Ghana recorded its first case on March 12, 2020.
The virus got into the country after a Ghanaian and a Norwegian national tested positive for the virus.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
